On 22 August 2014, Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Acting Foreign Minister, co-chaired the 15th  Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) Senior Officials’ Meeting with Mr. Alejandro Solano Ortiz, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica. Thailand, as the current East Asia Coordinator of FEALAC, hosts the FEALAC Senior Officials Meeting on 19 - 22 August 2014 at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld, Bangkok.

During the meeting, senior officers from member countries were updated on the outcomes of meetings of the four working groups: (1) Socio-politics and Sustainable Development, co-chaired by China and Ecuador (2) Trade, Investment, Tourism, and MSMEs, co-chaired by Argentina and Republic of Korea (3) Culture, Youth, Gender and Sports, co-chaired by Ecuador and Vietnam and (4) Science Technology, Innovation and Education, co-chaired by Brazil and Japan, respectively.

In addition, the meeting discussed the outcomes of three side events held on 20 August 2014 including (1) Tourism Seminar (2) FEALAC Business Forum and (3) Acedemic/STI Roundtable.  Senior officers further discussed the latest development of on-going projects, including FEALAC University Network and Bi-regional Development Center for SMEs and had a review on roles and responsibilities of related FEALAC members. Information and exchange of views on various issues concerning East Asia and Latin America were also discussed at the meeting. The senior officers further discussed ways forward on improving and strengthening areas of cooperation, especially in terms of inter-regional connectivity.

Permanent Secretary Sihasak took this opportunity to update FEALAC members on Thailand’s latest political development and reaffirmed the country’s leading and active role in international stage. The meeting provided a timely opportunity for the members to gain more understanding on the situation and potential of the FEALAC host country. Accordingly, the meeting has built and expanded cooperation and links between Latin America and Thailand.

FEALAC, originally known as East Asia - Latin America Forum – EALAF, was founded on 3 September 1999. Its members include 16 countries from East Asia (10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Australia and New Zealand) and 20 countries from Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Republic of Dominican, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba, Uruguay, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Suriname). All FEALAC members together represent 39% of global population, 33% of global trade and 33% of global GDP.