The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the 2016 OSCE Asian Conference on 6-7 June 2016 in Bangkok under the theme “Strengthening Comprehensive Security”, with the participation of over 100 delegates from Europe and Asia, as well as relevant international organizations. On 6 June 2016, Mr. Panyarak Poolthup, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, delivered the opening remarks at the Conference, followed by keynote speeches by OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier, ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh, Ambassador Vuk Žugić, Head of the Permanent Mission of Serbia to the OSCE and Chairperson of the OSCE Asian Contact Group, and Ambassador Norbert Riedel, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany and the OSCE Chairperson-in-office.

              The OSCE Asian Conference is an annual event between the Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) and its Asian Partners for Co-operation, i.e. Afghanistan, Australia, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Thailand. The Conference aims to promote cooperation in security issues and experience-sharing between OSCE and Asian partner countries. This year, the Conference was divided into three main sessions focusing on 1) violent extremism and radicalisation that leads to terrorism, and cyber security 2) promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and 3) combatting human trafficking and irregular migration.    

               After the Conference, an excursion was organised for the participants to Sampran Model, a public-private partnership programme to promote sustainable development with the participation of the local community, in line with His Majesty’s sufficiency economy philosophy to develop organic agricultural value chain. Sustainable development is considered as a key component of comprehensive security.

               On 7 June 2016, OSCE Secretary-General Lamberto Zannier paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and gave a special lecture on “The OSCE: A Regional Model of Security Cooperation?” to representatives of relevant agencies and educational institutes at Narathip Auditorium, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. 

            The 2016 OSCE Asian Conference provided a great opportunity for OSCE Participating States and the Asian Partners to exchange information and best practices on security issues of common concern. This conference not only highlighted Thailand’s potential role as the bridge for cooperation between OSCE and ASEAN, but also demonstrated Thailand’s constructive role in multilateral fora.