Bangkok’s authorities have cooperated with Weathernews Inc., Japan to implement the AI Nowcast system, aiming to provide accurate forecasts of rainfall in the Bangkok region three hours ahead of time.

Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries will integrate QR code payments from 2025, aiming to facilitate spending between these countries without the need to exchange currency, which is time-consuming, especially for tourists, according to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) on March 12 announced the end of a 19-day-long operation to salvage the sunken HTMS Sukhothai, setting the stage for the creation of a memorial monument.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has revealed that the country has lured potential investments worth 45.4 billion RM (9.94 billion USD) from Germany during his official visit to Germany from March 10-15.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan attended the 30th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Luang Prabang, Laos, on March 8-9, during which he expressed Vietnam’s support for Laos' priority economic cooperation initiatives in its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2024.

Cambodia held an annual running event, the "Women Run 10k," on March 8 to celebrate International Women's Day.

Thai Minister of Labour Pipat Ratchakitprakarn has extended a warm welcome to Geraldine Ansart, Chief of Mission in Thailand at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the delegation from IOM to Thailand, as both parties discussed the international migration of workers.

With the success of the special summit marking the 50th anniversary between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia, the two sides have shown strong commitments to fostering their relations, commented Prof. Carl Thayer from the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN in Geneva, on March 7 affirmed the importance the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attaches to fisheries cooperation and Vietnam’s achievements in developing this sector.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has proposed an increase in the deployment of cutting-edge technology in order to ramp up safety measures for the upcoming Songkran Festival which is slated for April.

The Commerce Ministry of Thailand has set a target of turning the country into the epicentre of the hotel, restaurant and catering (HoReCa) industry in Asia.

Thailand’s Finance Ministry and Interior Ministry have pledged to improve the land and building tax to prevent a negative impact on the public amid several economic challenges.

Indonesia’s Finance Ministry has announced that it is currently formulating a contingency fund dedicated to the National Food Agency (Bapanas) to ensure the distribution of food in markets and execute policy interventions.

Thailand’s Commerce Ministry foresees a positive trend in new business registrations for this year as its tourism, e-commerce and electric vehicles (EV) market are expected to recover.