On 22 October 2025, the Office of the Permanent Secretary, on behalf of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESI), had an honour to host the 88th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI-88) and its related meetings, held from 19 to 24 October 2025 at the Jubilee Prestige Hotel, Ratchadaphisek, Bangkok, and via video conference. The meetings gathered a total of 295 participants, including representatives from ASEAN Member States, Timor-Leste, Dialogue Partners, the ASEAN Secretariat and relevant organisations.
Professor Dr. Supachai Pathumnakul, Permanent Secretary of MHESI, reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment to its leadership role in ASEAN, particularly in promoting the mobility of talents and the accessibility of shared research infrastructure. He further underscored two key initiatives initiated and led by Thailand under the ASEAN COSTI framework:
1. The ASEAN Talent Mobility (ATM) Platform, which facilitates the movement and exchange of researchers, academics and experts across ASEAN. This platform serves as a central database of ASEAN scientists and specialists across various disciplines, enabling more comprehensive and effective research matchmaking within the region.
2. The ASEAN Regional Research Infrastructure Strategy, which encourages the shared utilisation of research facilities across the region. This initiative promotes knowledge and data exchange, joint use of laboratories and collaborative research development.
The ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation has also endorsed the ASEAN Research Infrastructure Strategy, which will serve as an overarching framework to drive progress and enable ASEAN to access to world-class laboratories.
In this regard, Thailand had an opportunity to share its ongoing cooperation with the Republic of Korea, as a Country Coordinator, and engage in discussions with ASEAN Member States, Dialogue Partners and academic institutions on potential collaborative activities. These efforts are closely aligned with the ASEAN Plan of Action on Science, Technology and Innovation (APASTI) 2026–2035, as well as Thailand’s foreign policy.
