On 5 - 6 December 2024, H.E. Mr. Russ Jalichandra, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, led the Thai delegation to the 31st Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta. The conference is the OSCE's highest-level annual meeting and was attended by Foreign Ministers and high-level representatives from 68 OSCE Participating States, Asian and Mediterranean Partners for Co-operation.

The Vice Minister delivered remarks at the Plenary and Troika Session under the theme“Strengthening Resilience, Enhancing Security.” In his remarks, he shared his perspective on global issues and Thailand’s active role in the OSCE to safeguarding peace and security namely; (1) the ongoing situations in Ukraine and Myanmar, as well as Thailand’s role in providing humanitarian assistance and encouraging all sides to engage in peace dialogue; (2) the climate-security nexus in which environmental degradation contributes toresource competition and forced migration; and (3) Thailand’s readiness to facilitate more positive engagement of the OSCE participating member states and the EU in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as closer collaboration between ASEAN and OSCE as key regional security architectures. He also emphasised Thailand’s role as a bridge builder between the OSCE and ASEAN. Over the past years, as the only ASEAN member in the OSCE, Thailand has facilitated increased number of representatives from ASEAN in OSCE activities and conferences. Thailand is also committed to working closely with the OSCE by leveraging our membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the term 2025 - 2027.

In addition, on the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of Thailand’s participation in the OSCE as an Asian Partner and the 50th Anniversary of the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act next year, Thailand will organise a workshop on cybersecurity threat at the 2025 OSCE APCG meeting hosted by Thailand. The outcome of this meeting will also contribute towards 2026 Asian Conference hosted by Thailand to underline Thailand’s serious effort to strengthen resilience against cyber threat and promote sharing of best practice between Thailand and the OSCE. On the margins of the Conference, the Vice Minister also had bilateral meetings with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of Malta in capacity as the OSCE Chair-in-Office and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia to discuss bilateral relations and hope to enhance people interactions.

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 politico-military, economic and environmental and human aspects. Thailand values the OSCE as an open policy space for the exchange of experiences and best practices in security-related matters.