On 24 April 2024, H.E. Ms. Busadee Santipitaks, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, gave keynote remarks at the opening of a seminar titled “Leveraging digital innovation for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific”, jointly organized by the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and the Secretariat of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), at the United Nations Conference Centre, Bangkok. Other keynote speakers included H.E. Mr. Kairat Sarybay, CICA Secretary General, H.E. Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and ESCAP Executive Secretary, and H.E. Mr. Arman Issetov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Thailand.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary emphasized that the impacts from two major challenges, namely global climate change and the growing geopolitical competition, have severely affected the livelihood of people, economic growth, and multilateral cooperation, requiring international cooperation and utilization of digital innovation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Deputy Permanent Secretary also mentioned the role and performance of Thailand in promoting SDGs by applying Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) and digital technology, which have been incorporated in the national development plans. Furthermore, the Deputy Permanent Secretary highlighted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ role in sharing Thailand’s expertise and best practices in technology and digital innovation with like-minded countries in various areas, namely tourism, waste management, agriculture, food security, and public health.