Who We Are

Chirachai Punkrasin joined the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue in April 2022 as Executive Director.

He studied political science and history at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand and received a MA in Area Studies (South East Asia) from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He worked as a journalist for three years with The Nation – an English-language daily based in Bangkok, before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand in 1984.

He began his Foreign Service career working on ASEAN issues at the Foreign Ministry’s Department of ASEAN Affairs and then moved to the then Department of Political Affairs where he worked on Thailand’s relations with the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. He worked on multilateral economic issues during several assignments to the Department of International Economic Affairs. He served as Director-General of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs from 2009 to 2012 where he was responsible for overseeing Thailand’s relations with the countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America and the South Pacific.

His overseas postings have included: First Secretary at the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila; a secondment as Director (Program) to the APEC Secretariat in Singapore; Deputy Chief of Mission at the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C., and Deputy Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to the United Nations in New York. He served as Thailand’s Ambassador to Mexico (with concurrent accreditation to Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) from 2012 to 2015 and as Ambassador to Australia (with concurrent accreditation to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu) from 2015 to 2017.

He retired from government service in 2017.

In July 2022, Dr. Anthony Pramualratana assumed the role of Deputy Executive Director at the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development and Studies Dialogue (ACSDSD). The ACSDSD garnered support from leaders during the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in June 2019 and was officially launched at the 35th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok in November 2019. Its primary objective is to advance research on specific sustainable development issues of mutual interest and facilitate dialogue among ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, Dialogues, and external partners, employing a comprehensive and cross-cutting approach. In September 2022, Dr. Pramualratana played a key role in establishing the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, a regional facility aimed at helping ASEAN Member States (AMS) achieve sustainable consumption and production by accelerating the transition towards a circular economy. Dr. Pramualratana is also responsible for overseeing the research and studies component of the Centre.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Anthony Pramualratana served as a lecturer at the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) at Mahidol University from 1981 to 1996. He holds a master’s degree in Sociology from the East-West Center, University of Hawaii, which he earned in 1987, and a PhD in Demography from the Australian National University, completed in 1990.

In 1997, he joined the United Nations Development Programme, where he managed the national HIV/AIDS prevention program for key affected populations. Subsequently, he was assigned by the United Nations system to establish UNAIDS in Thailand. In 1997, he assumed the position of Executive Director at the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS (TBCA) and played a crucial role in establishing similar coalitions in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

Dr. Pramualratana serves as an advisor to the Employers’ Confederation of Thailand (ECOT) and is a founding Board Member of the Thai National AIDS Foundation (TNAF).

David Treesuvit Arriyavat is a PhD candidate in Management at the College of Management, Mahidol University, located in Bangkok, Thailand. He possesses significant experience in managing projects within the ASEAN context.

Currently, David serves as the project manager for the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP) at the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) at Mahidol University, Bangkok. In this capacity, he holds responsibility for establishing and overseeing the day-to-day operations of the ACESP Secretariat. This role encompasses various tasks, including project coordination, management of the knowledge and information portal, as well as communication and outreach efforts. The ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform (ACESP) functions as a regional hub, accessible at https://ce.acsdsd.org/, with the objective of aiding ASEAN Member States (AMS) in achieving sustainable consumption and production by facilitating the transition to a circular economy.

Before assuming his current position, David worked as a lecturer and was involved with the Passage to ASEAN (P2A) Secretariat, situated in Rangsit, Thailand. During this period, he developed and delivered a general education course titled “The Passage to ASEAN.” This course was designed as a blend of research and project-based learning, focusing on students’ experiential learning experiences during their study abroad programs at ASEAN Universities.

In addition to his teaching role, David also served as the secretariat of the Passage to ASEAN (P2A) association, a collaborative network comprising ASEAN Universities and Institutions of Higher Education. This network collectively offers students ASEAN preparation and mobility programs. In his capacity as the Passage to ASEAN (P2A) Secretariat, David was responsible for program management, network maintenance, and membership coordination.