The fifth official meeting of the Good Regulatory Practices Network (GRPN) was held 1 July 2019 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, together with the UK Workshop on Regulatory Delivery (2 July 2019) and Thailand’s International Conference on Better Regulation (4 July 2019, in Bangkok).

The meeting was co-chaired by Hairil Yahri Yaacob, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Malaysia; and Mark Steel, Director of Regulatory Systems, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, New Zealand. Over 75 officials attended the meeting from ASEAN member states, OECD member countries, as well as regional and international organisations.

All the events focused on the central theme of better regulation in the age of emerging technologies. This GRPN focused on discussing the challenges and opportunities facing ASEAN countries on designing regulations, as well as how International Regulatory Cooperation (IRC) and ex post review provide avenues for improving regulatory policymaking. The UK workshop focused on how innovation can improve regulatory outcomes, focusing on utilising new technologies for improving regulatory delivery, discovering alternatives to regulation and promoting a more innovation-friendly regulatory approach.

Finally, Thailand’s International Conference discussed the principles and global practices of better regulation in the context of emerging technologies with several hundred Thai officials. This also helped support capacity building efforts associated with the OECD Regulatory Reform Review of Thailand currently underway as part of the 2018-2020 OECD-Thailand country program. The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand opened the conference highlighting how better regulation is both part of the 2017 Constitution of Thailand, but also key for implementing Thailand’s 20-year National Strategic Development Plan. He explained that OECD good practices for improving regulatory policy making in Thailand will help to deliver the Plan’s goal of a better life for the Thai people and increase the competitiveness of Thailand internationally.

The GRPN and related events were organised in partnership with the Thai Government Office of the Council of the State (OCS) and the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and supported by the Korean Permanent Delegation to the OECD.