Thailand hosted the 43rd Asia-Europe Foundation Board of Governors' Meeting (ASEF BoG43) and related Meetings, namely, the Finance & Audit Committee (FAC) and the Executive Committee (ExCo), between 21-24 June 2022 in Bangkok. The BoG Meeting was chaired by Dr. Darmp Sukontasap, Thai Governor to ASEF, in his capacity as the Chair of the ASEF BoG for the year 2022. The event marked the first in-person BoG meeting in 2 years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand also hosted a Welcome Dinner on 23 June 2022 in honour of the participating ASEF Governors from both Asia and Europe. Mr. Sarun Charoensuwan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, as host, gave remarks at the Dinner.

The BoG Meeting began with the celebration of ASEF's 25th Anniversary, followed by discussions on the matter with a view to taking stock and shaping the future of ASEF. Other key outcomes of the Meeting include: approval of the annual budget and programs, especially programs related to youth and education. These are areas on which Thailand places great importance, in particular to promote cooperation between Asia and Europe and empower the youth to adapt to global efforts on sustainable development and digitalisation. Furthermore, several exhibition booths and a cultural tour were organised during the Meeting to promote Thailand’s tourism, agricultural products, and its capacity to host large international conferences.

The Asia-Europe Foundation is a track-II organisaion under the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) framework. ASEF’s aim is to promote better understanding between Asia and Europe through activities in four main areas: (1) cultural exchanges; (2) academic exchanges; (3) people-to-people exchanges; and (4) ASEM public relations. The ASEF Executive Office was established in Singapore in 1997 and is publicly funded by voluntary contributions from ASEM Partners.