H.E. Mr. Ongart Klampaiboon , Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office of Thailand, and a group of media visited ERIA Annex Office on August 2nd , 2010. The delegation's visit to Indonesia is part of the Governmental project on establishing and developing the cooperative networks with governmental agencies and media in Muslim countries.

Mr. Hidetoshi Nishimura, Executive Director, ERIA, and some ERIA officials and researchers welcomed the delegation. Mr. Nishimura gave a brief explanation on the recent developments of ERIA, especially on ERIA's ongoing research activities. Mr. Nishimura said " Main function of ERIA is to maintain and advance ASEAN Centrality ", he added, "Thailand is evidently an important part of the production network in ASEAN". During the meeting, some people from media enquired about the status of the Comprehensive Asia Development Plan (CADP). Mr. Nishimura briefed on CADP, including the mandate, the contents and the recommendations for economic growth. Mr. Nishimura also mentioned the prospective ERIA-Harvard University seminar on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit.

The Minister thanked Mr. Nishimura for the warm welcome and stated that ERIA's economic research is of great value to governments in the region in their decision making processes. During the one-hour visit, the delegation engaged in a lively discussion. Both parties shared views and information on the economic trends and future development of Thailand and ASEAN. They reaffirmed future cooperation to maintain and advance ASEAN Centrality for economic integration in the region. The Minister expressed his keenness to understand ERIA's role in the ASEAN.