On 17 December 2024, Mr. Bancha Yuenyongchongcharoen, Charge’ de’affaires of the Royal Thai Embassy, Seoul together with Ambassadors and Charge’de’affares of ASEAN member countries in the ROK, were invited by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the ROK to attend a roundtable meeting on the ASEAN-ROK Think Tank Dialogue (AKTD), which was presided over by H.E. Dr. Inkyo Cheong, Minister of Trade in Seoul.

The meeting was aimed to consult with representative of ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Diplomatic Corp. in the ROK and Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) on the ROK’s goals and action plan of AKTD, comprised of Think Tanks from the ROK and ASEAN focused on trade and economic policy, which will be officially launched during APEC MRT, hosted by the ROK in Jeju Island in May 2025.

CDA reiterated that as the country coordinator of ASEAN-ROK dialogue relations, Thailand has stood ready to work with the ROK to
achieve effective implementation of mutually beneficial Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). On economic partnership between ASEAN-ROK, the Thai side has placed top priorities on digital economy, advanced technology industries as well as the promotion of startups and MSMEs. Thailand has encouraged utilization of the RCEP and has supported the upgrade of the ASEAN-ROK Free Trade Agreement in 2026. On bilateral relations between Thailand-ROK, the Thai side has focused on the conclusion of Thailand-ROK Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiation and the relaunch of Thailand-ROK Joint Trade Committee within
next year.