JAKARTA, 23 December 2015 – H.E. Busadee Santipitaks presented her letter of credentials as the new Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand to ASEAN to the Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Le Luong Minh, at a ceremony held at the ASEAN Secretariat this morning.
In a meeting following the presentation ceremony, Secretary-General Minh highlighted the indispensable role of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) in the ASEAN community building process. This role will be even more instrumental with the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the three new Blueprints which chart the future direction for ASEAN in the next 10 years. Secretary-General Minh also expressed his appreciation to the Kingdom of Thailand for its valuable contribution and strong commitment to ASEAN and assured Ambassador Santipitaks of the ASEAN Secretariat’s full support to her new role.
Ambassador Santipitaks emphasized that ASEAN remains a cornerstone of Thailand’s foreign policy. She reaffirmed Thailand’s continued commitment to the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the new Blueprints as well as to the strengthening of the ASEAN Secretariat. Ambassador Santipitaks also highlighted that the establishment of the ASEAN Community by end-2015 is a landmark development for the region, and stronger cooperation among ASEAN Member States and more robust ASEAN institutions must be in place to intensify ASEAN community building process.
Prior to her appointment, Ambassador Santipitaks was the Deputy Director-General of the ASEAN Department and subsequently Minister at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to ASEAN. She was also involved in the work of the High Level Task Force on Strengthening the ASEAN Secretariat and Reviewing the ASEAN Organs (HLTF).