On 7 April 2022, H.E. Mrs. Chulamanee Chartsuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, participated in the 29th ASEAN New Zealand Dialogue via video conference. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Dayang Emaleen binti Abdul Rahman Teo, Permanent Secretary of Brunei Darussalam, as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations, and H.E. Mr. Mark Sinclair, Deputy Secretary for the Americas and Asia Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand.

The meeting discussed various dimensions of ASEAN-New Zealand strategic partnership as referred to in the Joint ASEAN-New Zealand Leaders’ Vision Statement on the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue Relations, namely, Peace, Prosperity, People, and Planet as well as Cross-Pillar Cooperation. The meeting also exchanged views on important regional and international issues.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary led the discussion on connectivity, sustainable development, and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI). During the meeting, the Deputy Permanent Secretary called for enhancing regional connectivity through the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, which aims to achieve a seamless ASEAN and welcomed New Zealand’s continued support under the IAI Work Plan (2021-2025) to further narrow the development gap in the region. The Deputy Permanent Secretary also advocated the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG Model) as a means of advancing development for post COVID-19. The BCG Model is also being promoted at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) under Thailand’s APEC host year in 2022.

The ASEAN-New Zealand Dialogue is an important platform for propelling forward ASEAN’s strategic partnership with New Zealand, one of ASEAN’s oldest dialogue partners, and to prepare for the Ministerial Meeting scheduled to be held in August 2022.