PM to ratify agreements in Singapore

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to join other Asean leaders in endorsing three important documents, including a vision for a resilient and innovative region, during the Asean Summit to be held in Singapore from April 25-28.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks said the other documents to be endorsed are the concept note on a smart cities network and an Asean leaders’ statement on cyber cooperation.

These documents reflect the priorities for the Asean members over the coming years, especially in counter-terrorism and cybersecurity, said Ms Busadee.

The spokesperson said that during the summit, the leaders will be discussing the implementation of the master plan on Asean connectivity, especially the lowering of the development gap and cooperation on sustainable development.

Thailand is the coordinator for administering synergy between the Asean Community Vision 2025 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the summit, Gen Prayut will also attend the 11th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT).

Meanwhile, the Senior Economic Officials Meeting was held last month in Bali, Indonesia, to monitor the implementation of measures under the Asean Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025.

Ronnarong Phoolpipat, deputy directorgeneral of the Department of Trade Negotiation, Commerce Ministry, recently said after the meeting that the attending parties had considered criteria for the issuing of rules and regulations to create transparency in the formulation of overarching Asean laws.

The meeting also considered measures to conclude the Asean Trade In Service Agreement which is set to be signed by the end of this year and will be used in place of the Asean Framework Agreement on Services.

The AEC Blueprint 2025’s main objectives are to turn Asean into a highly integrated and cohesive economy, and a competitive, innovative and dynamic region.

This year’s Asean summit will be held under the theme “Resilient and Innovative Asean”.

The summit will be the first for new Asean Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi from Brunei, who succeeded Le Luong Minh after his five-year term.