From February 28th to March 2nd, 2015, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, former ASEAN Secretary General and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, visited Brussels, at the invitation of the Royal Thai Embassy Brussels, to take parts in activities to promote Thailand and ASEAN.
On March 1st, 2015, Dr Surin had a meeting with Thai students and Team Thailand officials in Belgium at the Thai Ambassador’s Residence. And later in the evening, the former ASEAN Secretary General had an opportunity to give inputs and exchange views on the relation between ASEAN and the EU as well as on the political situation in Thailand during a dinner with high-ranking representatives from the European External Action Service (EEAS), Member of the European Parliament, Ambassadors and high level officers from Permanent Representations to the EU, and Heads of Missions of several ASEAN Dialogue Partner countries to the EU.
On March 2nd, 2015, at 10.00 – 12.15 hrs., the Royal Thai Embassy Brussels and Friends of Europe jointly organized Policy Question-Time, titled “ASEAN in the 21st Century: What’s happening and why it matters,” at Cercle de Lorraine, with Dr Surin Pitsuwan as the keynote speaker. Dr Surin gave a lecture and answered questions regarding the importance of ASEAN to the EU as well as the developments and prospects of ASEAN and Thailand. The event was attended by more than 100 participants from both public and private sector, diplomatic corps, civil society, the academic sector, and members of the press. At 12.30 – 15.00 hrs., Dr Surin also took part in Round-table Conference – Luncheon with Dr Surin Pitsuwan, co-hosted by the Royal Thai Embassy Brussels and American European Community Association (AECA). The participants, including high level representatives from leading multinational corporations and EU institutions, were informed about the ASEAN Economic Community and investment opportunities by Dr Surin, who also answered questions regarding the current political situation in Thailand. Lastly, at the end of his visit to Brussels, Dr Surin gave an interview to Mo* Magazine, a quarterly magazine and news website on international affairs.
