The eighty-first session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was held from 21 to 25 April 2025 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. During the opening, the Prime Minister of Thailand, H.E. Ms. Paetongtam Shinawatra, listed as a first priority the achievement of food security through new technologies in agriculture, in particular precision agriculture.

During the agenda item dedicated to the ‘Review of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific', the Chair of the twentieth meeting of the Governing Council of CSAM, Mr. Anuchit Chamsing, Director of Post-harvest Engineering Research Group, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand, briefed the session about the Governing Council’s recommendations, following which the delegation of China recognized the efforts of the Centre in support to member States in achieving digitalization and mechanization in agriculture through capacity building and project cooperation.

 
The Commission was called to elect new members to the Governing Council of CSAM and three other Regional Institutions of ESCAP, namely the Asian and Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for Development (APCICT); the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM); and the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP). And the elections took place in two ballots on 22 and 23 April 2025 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The Statute of CSAM (Commission resolution 72/2) stipulates that “the Centre shall have a Governing Council consisting of a representative designated by the Government of China and eight representatives nominated by other members and associate members of ESCAP of relevant line ministries elected by the Commission”. The Governing Council members elected or re-elected by the Commission for a period of three years (2025-28) in addition to the host country (China) are: India; Malaysia; Mongolia; Philippines; Republic of Korea; Sri Lanka; Thailand; and Viet Nam. As per the Statute of CSAM, representatives of States that are not members of the Governing Council may be invited to attend its meetings as observers.

A statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia on the occasion of the re-election stated that CSAM plays an important role in promoting technical cooperation among ESCAP members and associate members, facilitates the exchange of knowledge, research collaboration, and agri-business development in the field of sustainable agricultural mechanization, and that Malaysia remains steadfast in its support for the work of CSAM.

The mandate of the Governing Council members is to review the administration and financial status of the Centre and the implementation of its programme of work, and adopt the annual report to be submitted to the Commission at its annual sessions.

The Commission also endorsed the report of the twentieth session of the CSAM Governing Council and the evaluation report of CSAM.