Summary of Weekly Press Briefing by

Director-General of Department of Information/Spokesperson of MFA

21 March 2025 at 11.00 hrs. at Press Conference Room and MFA FB/TikTok Live

1. The Foreign Minister's visit to India to participate in the Raisina Dialogue

• On 17 – 18 March 2025, Foreign Minister Maris attended the 10th Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi.
• The Dialogue is organised by the Ministry of External Affairs of India in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a leading think tank in India, to bring together leaders from various sectors to discuss and share viewpoints on the global challenges we face today.
• The Foreign Minister participated in two sessions of the Dialogue:

1. the Raisina Ideas Pod interview on “ASEAN in a Polarized World” alongside H.E. Mr. Enrique Manalo, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, and
2. a panel discussion on “Secure Waters: ASEAN, QUAD, and the Indo-Pacific.”

In both sessions, the Foreign Minister underlined Thailand’s role in ASEAN and its strategic geographic location in promoting strategic equilibrium in the Indo-Pacific, as well as Thailand’s role as a bridge builder on issues that are important to various countries.

• On 18 March 2025, the Foreign Minister also had a discussion with H.E. Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India, reaffirming first and foremost Thailand’s readiness to welcome the Indian Prime Minister to Thailand during the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit.
• During the meeting, they also discussed enhancing cooperation between the BIMSTEC Centre of Excellence in India and relevant centres in Thailand, particularly in areas of Indian expertise such as food security, energy security, and space technology. Both sides also agreed to promote trilateral cooperation between Thailand, India and Myanmar, especially the Trilateral Highway Project, to enhance connectivity among the three countries and the region.

2. Updates on the 6th BIMSTEC Summit and Related Meetings

• The 6th BIMSTEC Summit and Related Meetings will be held at Shangri-La Bangkok during 2 - 4 April 2025:
• The BIMSTEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on 2 April 2025;
• The BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and the Official Dinner for BIMSTEC Leaders on 3 April 2025;
• The BIMSTEC Summit on 4 April 2025.
• All BIMSTEC leaders and high-level representatives have confirmed their participation.
• This will be the first meeting at the Summit-level hosted under the current administration. The media, both domestic and international, have expressed considerable interest.
• Further information for Media specifically, Shangri-La Hotel, the venue of the Summit and related meetings.
• Only accredited media members who receive media badges will be allowed on the premises. The Media Centre will operate between 2 - 4 April 2025 during 30 – 17.00 hrs. at the NEXT2 room, 1^st floor, Shangri-La wing. For security measures, media badge verification, equipment checks, and metal screening, will be in place in designated areas.
• Members of the media can find out more information about media opportunities, Media Centre facilities, photo and video archives, press materials and other relevant information in the Media Handbook, of which the link will be sent via a confirmation email to those registered. This information will be updated regularly so please continue to check it.
• In addition, in the afternoon of 3 April 2025, the MFA will organise the “BIMSTEC Young Gen Forum: Where the Future Meets” in collaboration with TNN World. The event will be held in parallel with the BIMSTEC Summit at Theatre 2, Major Cineplex located on the 6th floor of ICONSIAM. The event features 7 outstanding young entrepreneurs from 7 BIMSTEC member countries, who will share their inspirations and experiences in different sectors. There will also be a special keynote address by Professor Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the Government of Bangladesh.

Watch the full session at: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1A78Y3ft6F/