Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs encouraged enhancing connectivity in the Mekong sub-region and ASEAN for the post- COVID-19 resilient socio-economic recovery and sustainable development in his remarks at the virtual New Southern Policy Forum on Connectivity.
 
Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delivered his congratulatory remarks at the opening session of the virtual New Southern Policy Forum on Connectivity entitled “Strengthening Partnership for Connectivity in Thailand, Mekong and ASEAN”, co-organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Thailand and the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN in Jakarta on 22 June 2021. Representatives from relevant agencies in Thailand, the ROK and other countries joined the Forum as speakers, with over 100 participants.
 
In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary emphasised Thailand’s role and achievements on promoting connectivity within Thailand, the Mekong sub-region and ASEAN, which include the key recommendations from the Seminar on “Connecting the Connectivities: Synergy through Enhanced Partnership”, organised virtually by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, in collaboration with the World Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat on 22 January 2021.
 
He also suggested possible areas in which Thailand and the ROK could further enhance cooperation at bilateral, regional and international levels, in line with Thailand’s national policies and agendas, the ROK’s New Southern Policy and New Southern Policy Plus, and visions and plans within the Mekong sub-regional and ASEAN frameworks. The main goals are to improve people’s livelihood and strengthen supply chains for the resilient and sustainable economic recovery towards “building back better” with no one left behind.