PM sets out Apec vision
PRAYUT PLEDGES TO IMPROVE THAILAND’S EDUCATION, SKILLS FOR DIGITAL AGE
>> Thailand is gearing up to prepare manpower with the skills to meet the challenges of the digital age through high-quality education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Vietnam yesterday.
Gen Prayut attended the Apec leaders’ first retreat session with the topic “Innovative Growth, Inclusion and Sustainable Employment in the Digital Age”.
He put forward proposals for Apec leaders to lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth, according to deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak.
Gen Prayut believes human capital development is a key strategy for all Apec countries, which is consistent with Apec’s framework on human resources development in the digital age.
The PM said Thailand has given priority to developing the skills of human resources to meet the challenges of the digital age.
He said efforts are being made to prepare Thai people with strong STEM skills to become problem solvers who can tackle pressing challenges, becoming innovators in their work and daily lives.
Gen Prayut said Thailand has attached a great deal of importance in preparing labour for the digital age to help them compete globally by improving education curriculums and learning processes at all educational institutes, and integrating all state education resources so as to respond to the demand of labour markets.
The government has come up with various measures to support the growth of new startups and new entrepreneurs over the past two years, he said.
Gen Prayut stressed the importance of food security, saying Asia-Pacific is the world’s major food producer and it will be appropriate for the region to support the agricultural sector to adapt to the digital age and boost global food security.
He said Thailand has encouraged farmers to adopt the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s sufficiency economy principles with the help of high technology to transform and reorient agricultural systems towards smart agriculture and connect with the global market and deal with the impact of climate change.
Gen Prayut urged Apec countries to promote green business that is environmentally friendly and encourage micro small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to adopt green technology and innovations.
It is important to increase the competitiveness of MSMEs and involve them in production networks and global value chains of larger companies in the region so that they will form a solid foundation for Apec’s sustainable growth, he said.
He also stressed the need to contribute to efforts to make Apec a low-carbon region and generate employment in the growing green industries.
Gen Prayut also said Thailand and Peru have worked together to push Apec’s strategy for green, sustainable and innovative MSMEs, and Apec leaders are expected to endorse it this year.
During a talk with Vietnamese PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday, Gen Prayut discussed bilateral cooperation and the joint cabinet meeting between the countries to solve the problem of trade barriers as well as the problems of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and illegal workers, according to a Government House spokesman.
Gen Prayut told his Vietnamese counterpart that friendship and mutual trust will make the cooperation successful.
Gen Prayut had a meeting with Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam on Friday. He said he was happy that Hong Kong had announced it would establish a Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Thailand and said the government was ready to facilitate the move.
Both economies hope that setting up the HKETO and the previous visits by the chief of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong business people earlier this year would promote cooperation and trade between Hong Kong and Thailand, Lt Gen Werachon said.
He added that Hong Kong has shown interest in encouraging its investors to invest in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor as well as cooperation in tourism and fashion businesses.
Gen Prayut and Ms Lam met in August in Thailand.
On the sidelines of the Apec leaders’ meeting, Commerce Minister Apiradee Tantraporn met with Canadian Minister of International Commerce Francois-Philippe Champagne.
Thailand asked Canada to expedite considering its call for the country to reduce the required temperature of cooked chicken meat from Thailand from 80 degrees Celsius to 70-72 degrees given that Thailand is free from bird flu.
Canada imports Thai chicken worth US$30.3 million each year, about 20% of its chicken imports. Rice, shrimp and chicken are among Thailand’s major exports.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai has had meetings over the past week with his counterparts from Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea as well as the deputy secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
>> DANANG: President Donald Trump stood before a summit of Asian leaders keen on regional trade pacts and delivered a roaring “America first” message on Friday, denouncing China for unfair trade practices just a day after he had heaped praise on President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
“We are not going to let the United States be taken advantage of any more,” Mr Trump told CEOs on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference. “I am always going to put America first, the same way that I expect all of you in this room to put your countries first.”
The president — who pulled the United States out of the Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership — said the US would no longer join “large agreements that tie our hands, surrender our sovereignty and make meaningful enforcement practically impossible.”
Instead, he said, the US will pursue one-on-one trade deals with other nations that pledge fair and reciprocal trade. The message stood in sharp contrast to the behind-the-scenes negotiations taking place among other countries at the summit on a successor to TPP.
As for China, Mr Trump said he’d spoken “openly and directly” with Mr Xi about the nation’s abusive trade practices and “the enormous trade deficits they have produced with the United States.”
It was a stark change in tone from the day before, when Mr Trump was Mr Xi’s guest of honour during a state visit in Beijing. There, Mr Trump opted for flattering Mr Xi and blaming past US presidents for the trade deficit.
Mr Trump said China’s trade surplus, which stood at $223 billion for the first 10 months of the year, was unacceptable. He repeated his language from Thursday, when he said he did “not blame China” or any other country “for taking advantage of the United States on trade.”
But Mr Trump added forceful complaints about “the audacious theft of intellectual property,” “massive subsidising of industries through colossal state-owned enterprises,” and American companies being targeted by “state-affiliated actors for economic gain” — without singling China out by name.
US officials have raised similar concerns in the past about China, especially with regard to intellectual property.
Yesterday, Mr Trump attended meetings with leaders of the 21-member Apec countries. Later in the day, he flew to Hanoi, the capital, to attend a state banquet before formal meetings today with Vietnam’s president and prime minister.
In a major breakthrough, trade ministers from 11 nations remaining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership — representing roughly 13.5% of the global economy — said yesterday they had reached a deal to proceed with the free-trade pact after it was thrown into doubt when Mr Trump abandoned it.
Behind the scenes, White House officials negotiated with the Kremlin over whether Mr Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin would hold a formal meeting on the sidelines in Danang, with the Russians raising expectations for such a session.
As speculation built, the two sides tried to craft the framework of a deal that Mr Trump and Mr Putin could announce in a formal bilateral meeting, according to two administration officials not authorised to speak publicly about private discussions.
Though North Korea and the Ukraine had been discussed, the two sides focused on trying to strike an agreement about a path to resolve Syria’s civil war once the Islamic State group is defeated, according to officials. But the talks stalled and, just minutes before Air Force One touched down in Vietnam, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that the meeting was off.
When asked about the outcome, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later snapped at reporters: “Why are you asking me? Ask the Americans.”
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that even without a formal meeting, “Both presidents are in town, and their paths will cross one way or another.”
That they did Friday night during the summit’s welcome gala: The two men, each wearing traditional Vietnamese shifts, shook hands and greeted one another as they stood side-by-side for the group photo of world leaders.
The two men shook hands and spoke briefly again during yesterday’s meeting, according to a Fox News videographer who was the only American journalist allowed into the room. Journalists travelling with Mr Trump were not permitted to observe any of the Apec events he participated in.
Mr Trump and Mr Putin were also seen chatting as all leaders walked to an outdoor location for their traditional group photo.