Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs co-chaired the 6th Steering Group Meeting of the Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) which the Thai side highlighted rendering support for MSMEs, tourism and human capital development as well as inclusive and sustainable recovery in the post-COVID-19.

On 7 October 2020, Mr. Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Director-General, Department of International Economic Affairs, co-chaired the Sixth Steering Group Meeting of the Southeast Asia Regional Programme (SEARP) via videoconference, hosted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to discuss how to drive the post-pandemic recovery in Southeast Asia, especially through 4 key areas – MSMEs, global supply chain, skills development, and resilient infrastructure. More than 80 participants from OECD member countries, Southeast Asian countries, ASEAN Secretariat as well as experts from various fields, joined the meeting.

The Director-General shared Thailand’s experience in addressing the spread of COVID-19, and efforts to stimulate the economy. In driving the post-pandemic recovery in Southeast Asia, the Director-General reiterated the importance of strengthening MSMEs, developing skills for the workforce and revitalising the tourism industry. The Meeting also discussed other issues such as healthcare system resilience, inclusive digitalisation, financial inclusion, and green recovery. The OECD will integrate these inputs to improve areas of cooperation to better support the post-COVID19 recovery in Southeast Asia.

SEARP was launched in 2014 to promote collaboration between the OECD and the ASEAN by supporting regional integration efforts, promoting domestic reform processes, and bringing Southeast Asia closer to the OECD bodies, standards and good practices. The programme covers 11 areas of collaboration, such as investment, tax, innovation, gender, and MSMEs. Thailand has co-chaired the SEARP Steering Group with the Republic of Korea since 2018.