CSEP hosted the expert policy roundtable that focused on sharing ideas to advance the regional infrastructure, transportation connectivity and economic cooperation opportunities for the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) region on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm, at CSEP.

The discussion featured recommendations from New Delhi-based experts in an interactive session with Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. The objective was to explore how Thailand’s BIMSTEC chairmanship can foster various infrastructure connectivity initiatives, including the implementation of the Master Plan for Transport Connectivity.

Speaker:

Cherdchai Chaivaivid has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand for almost 30 years. Prior to his current appointment as the Director-General of the Department of International Economic Affairs in 2019, he had served as Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, from 2017-2019, and Director of East Asia Division IV at the Department of East Asian Affairs, from 2012-2017.

His previous tenure as diplomatic agent includes Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 1997-2001, and Ottawa, Canada, from 2009-2012. Since joining the Foreign Service in 1994, and up to taking up the current position, Cherdchai had spent the entire of his career focusing on bilateral relations, having engaged in Thailand’s foreign policy towards South Asian nations, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Japan.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Chulalongkorn University and Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom.

For any queries, please contact Anindita Sinh at ASinh@csep.org.

All content reflects the individual views of the speakers. The Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) does not hold an institutional view on any subject.