On 17 - 18 July 2023, H.E. Mrs. Vilawan Mangklatanakul, Ambassador of Thailand to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Vienna, attended the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Asian Partners for Co-operation Group Conference in Vienna, Austria. The convention was held under the theme "Europe and Asia: Addressing common challenges in a changing global security environment through multilateral co-operation” and attended by delegates from various countries, including Ms. Somrudee Poopornanake, Deputy Director-General of the Department of European Affairs, as well as Ambassadors of the 57 OSCE participating States and 5 Asian Partners (including Thailand).

During the Conference’s discussion sessions, the Thai delegation delivered remarks and gave interventions with importance attached to various issues of common interests. These included enhancing constructive engagement and cooperation between Asia and Europe, particularly between ASEAN and the OSCE, in non-traditional security issues, such as cyber security and climate change. Thailand also encouraged more engagement with the civil society in the promotion of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. In fact, Thailand and ASEAN have already undertaken good work in the aforementioned areas, as evident through the pursuit of the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economic Model, advocate for public-private-people partnerships in Thailand, as well as ASEAN’s mission in countering the use of ICTs for criminal purposes. Thailand also stressed the fact that the two organizations should consider exploring more direct engagement and joint activities going forward to support comprehensive security for the peoples of both regions. In addition, Thailand held bilateral talks with the OSCE Secretariat and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The OSCE is a consultative forum that focuses on enhancing preventive diplomacy and early warning systems to settle and prevent conflicts and crises in Europe. The OSCE’s mandate is to promote a comprehensive approach to security that encompasses the politico-military, economic and environmental, as well as human aspects. Thailand values the OSCE as an open policy space for the exchange of experiences and best practices in security-related matters which, in and of themselves, are valuable confidence- and security-building measures (CSBMs) between nations.