H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, is scheduled to attend the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) Tokyo Ministerial Conference, which will be held on 8 - 9 March 2018 in Tokyo, Japan. The Conference will cover the OECD Southeast Asia Ministerial Forum and the Steering Group Meeting of the OECD SEARP. The Ministerial Forum will be held under the theme of “Inclusive ASEAN”. It will bring together Ministers from Southeast Asia and OECD countries to discuss policy challenges and opportunities towards achieving inclusive development in Southeast Asia. The outcome of the Ministerial Forum will provide guidance and direction for discussions on the future work programme of SEARP at its Steering Group Meeting.

          The Minister of Foreign Affairs will also attend the handover ceremony of the SEARP Co-Chairmanship where Thailand and the Republic of Korea will officially assume the SEARP Co-Chairmanship for the term 2018 – 2020, as agreed to by the Inter-sessional Steering Group Committee of the OECD SEARP held on 10 January 2018 in Paris. 

          The OECD SEARP was conceived at the OECD Ministerial Council in 2014 and attended by high-level participants from Southeast Asian countries. The objective of the OECD SEARP is to strengthen the cooperation between OECD and Southeast Asian countries by supporting ASEAN’s integration efforts and domestic policy reforms and encouraging further partnership in OECD bodies and activities through the exchange of experiences and good practices between the two regions.   

           Thailand’s OECD SEARP Co-Chairmanship reflects the growing dynamic relationship between Thailand and OECD in the recent years. Particularly, Thailand and the OECD are preparing to launch the Country Programme (CP) in the first half of 2018.  Under such a Country Programme, Thailand can benefit from OECD in supporting support Thailand’s goal of overcoming the middle-income trap and attaining the high-income status.