The 20th Southeast Asia Network Forum, "BCG Economy: Pathways to Enhance the Partnerships between Kyoto University and ASEAN", and the Ceremony to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Kyoto University ASEAN Center were held in Bangkok, Thailand on 17 December 2024.
The Southeast Asia Network Forum is held in collaboration with regional Kyoto University alumni associations. This was the 38th forum, including those held under its former title, the "Southeast Asia Forum". This year’s forum was co-hosted by the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology (TNI), King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL), the Kyoto Union Club (KUC, the regional KyotoU alumni association in Thailand), and the Kyoto University ASEAN Center. The forum was attended by 163 people, including local academics and students, as well as alumni and academics from Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos.
The forum opened with remarks from Professor Dr Anchaleeporn W Lothongkum, president of KUC, and President Nagahiro Minato. Following the opening speeches, Professor Emeritus Keiichi Ishihara (Graduate School of Energy Science) and Professor Emeritus Wiwut Tanthapanichakoon (Chulalongkorn University and Tokyo Institute of Technology) gave keynote speeches on topics such as the quarter-century of education and research collaboration between Japan and ASEAN and decarbonization in Thailand. This was followed by lectures by Professor Hiroshi Kamitakahara (Graduate School of Agriculture), Dr Hor Sanara (dean of the Faculty of Agricultural Economic and Rural Development of the Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia), Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet (Hanoi University of Science and Technology), Dr Mohd Radzi bin Abu Mansor (senior lecturer at the National University of Malaysia), and Dr Nuki Agya Utama (head of the Asia Zero Emission Center at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia). After those lectures, KUC President Lothongkum and Executive Vice-President Tetsuo Sawaragi delivered closing remarks.
The Kyoto University ASEAN Center, which was opened in 2014, marked the 10th anniversary of its establishment in June 2024. To celebrate the occasion, a ceremony was held in the evening after the forum. After congratulatory remarks from HE Mr Masato Otaka, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Thailand, Professor Emeritus Tanthapanichakoon, and Professor Dr Krisada Visavateeranon, former president of the Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology, a celebratory dinner commenced with an opening speech and a toast by President Minato. The event was attended by 131 guests, including KyotoU alumni from Thailand and other ASEAN countries, academics, and guests from various Thai institutions.
