WHEN: 27-29 October 2025 I TIME: 9:00 - 18:00 (Bangkok Time) I VENUE: Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit I REGISTER here to join online
Hybrid meeting (in person meeting will be by invitation only)
Background:
The 7th SWITCH-Asia Annual Meeting, scheduled for 27–29 October 2025 in Bangkok, brings together policy makers, businesses, development partners, and civil society to accelerate the transition to circular economies in Asia.
Themed “Scaling Up the Circular Economy in Asia: Bridging Policy, Practice, and Investments through the EU Global Gateway”, the event offers a dynamic platform for participants to reflect on the achievements of the EU SWITCH-Asia programme and explore pathways for transforming pioneering initiatives into large-scale investments, thereby accelerating the growth of the circular economy in the region.
By convening government representatives, EU Delegations, experts, and practitioners, the meeting aims to strengthen partnerships that facilitate access to market and investments towards circular value chains within the region and between the EU and Asia.
Key Objectives
- Showcase the achievements of SWITCH-Asia and highlight scalable business models, local practices, and innovations across supply chains, ultimately paving the way for Global Gateway investments
- Critically assess circular economy policies and practices across key sectors and value chains and reflect on progress and bottlenecks, and opportunities in the enabling environment
- Strengthen regional dialogue and public-private partnerships by linking international strategies with local practices, inspire peer learning, and promoting inclusive investment opportunities that scale up circular solutions.
Organisation
The event is structured in four parts:
- Part I – Annual Conference
- Part II – EU Internal Meeting
- Part III – Programme Steering Committee
- Part IV – SWITCH-Asia Grant Projects Annual Meeting
Agenda
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DAY 1 - Monday, 27 October |
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PART I. Annual Conference |
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9:00 – 12:30 |
Session 1: Opening – SWITCH-Asia Contribution to the Global Gateway
Mr Tom CORRIE, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Thailand Zinaida FADEEVA, Team Leader, SWITCH-Asia Policy Support Component Olivier Louis, Head of Sector, Asia-Pacific Investment & Budget Support, DG INTPA
Panelists:
Leveraging SWITCH-Asia Regional Policy Flagships to advance the EU Green Deal and Global Gateway – panel discussion Panelists
Coffee Break Session 2: Circular Economy – uniting perspectives for impactful actions
Panelists
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12:30 – 13:30 |
Lunch |
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13:30 – 17:30 |
Session 3: Circular Economy – uniting perspectives for impactful actions (cont.)
Panellists
Session 4: Policies Advancing Circular Economy
Zinaida FADEEVA, Team Leader, SWITCH-Asia PSC Deep dive on policies for circular economy – lessons from technical advisories (focus on EPR, GPP) Panellists
Coffee Break Session 5: Climate and Materials Nexus
Ranga Pallawala, Climate Expert, SWITCH-Asia PSC
Panellists
General Discussion Closure of Day 1 |
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18:00 |
Welcome Reception and Networking |
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Day 2 - Tuesday, 28 October |
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9:00 – 12:30 |
Annual Conference Recap of Day 1 Session 6: Celebrating Leadership - Circular Economy and SCP Inspirational Practices
Panellists
Panel: From Circular Economy Policies to Practices and Practices to Policies
Coffee Break Session 8: Sector deep dives Facilitating uptake of Circular Economy Practices Across Key Sectors with focus on construction, agri-food, plastics, textile and leather – Parallel Breakouts Sessions - Agri-food: Ballroom - Textiles and Leather: Regency I - Construction: Regency II - Plastics: Regency IV |
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12:30 – 13:30 |
Lunch |
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13:30 – 16:30 |
Session 8: Sector Deep Dives (cont.) Reporting back from parallel sessions Session 9: Partnerships and Engagements Panellists:
Session 10: Reflections and Closing |
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PART II. EU Internal Meeting |
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17:00 – 18:00 |
Internal Meeting of DG INTPA and EU Delegations |
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BACK-TO-BACK EVENTS |
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17:00 – 18:30 |
Circular Economy Business practices Learning by Sharing: Towards Circular Economy Business Actions |
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Wednesday, 29 October |
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PARTS III & IV. SWITCH-Asia Programme Steering Committee & Grant Projects Meeting |
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08:30-11:00
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SWITCH-Asia Programme Steering Committee Starts at 8:45 |
SWITCH-Asia Grant Projects Annual Meeting Starts at 8:30 |
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11:00-12:00 |
Joint Session with Feedback from the Grant Projects Meeting to the Programme Steering Committee |
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12:00-14:00 |
Lunch |
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(Tentative) Internal Meeting of DG INTPA and EU Delegations |
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BACK-TO-BACK EVENTS |
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13:00-17:00 |
Sustainable/Green Public Procurement Expert Meeting |
13:15-17:00 ACEBA Thailand Launch and Workshop: Circular Economy - a responsible business and innovation opportunity for Thai businesses
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