On 25 March 2019, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, on behalf of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, presided over the opening ceremony of the Asia Pacific Conference 2019 of the International Association of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC) on 25 March 2019 in Bangkok. Representatives from the United Nations Development Programme, Thailand’s National Innovation Agency and the President of AIESEC International were also present at the opening ceremony. This is Thailand’s first time as host for this regional platform where more than 300 youth leaders of AIESEC in international and national levels from 26 countries participated. The 5-day conference include various programs such as the youth delegates introducing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to children and young people in disadvantaged areas, interactive sessions strengthening youth leadership capacity, and multicultural festivals for cultural exchanges. 

 

The Deputy Permanent Secretary emphasised the importance of youths as a key driving force of development towards sustainability and encouraged them to actively take part in the works as agents of change. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ various initiatives have been aimed at youth engagement including the programme called “SEP for SDGs Youth Partnership” that has brought together Thai and international youths to learn first-hand about the universally-applicable values of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, or SEP, as the home-grown approach towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These youth engagement efforts are also in line with Thailand's 2019 ASEAN Chairmanship’s theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”.