The following is the intervention by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha at the thirty eighth ASEAN summit, delivered via videoconference. The prime minister’s intervention was translated and posted by the Thai government’s public relations department.
“Your Majesty Excellencies,
I wish to thank Brunei Darussalam for hosting this ASEAN Summit amid many challenges dealing with the area such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the shifting geopolitical landscape. I also warmly welcome the Prime Ministers of the Lao PDR and Malaysia to the ASEAN family. I stand able to work closely with Your Excellencies and hope to meet face-to-face with you all soon.
I commend Brunei Darussalam for having exceptionally chaired ASEAN underneath the theme ‘We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper.’ Thailand absolutely supports this year’s various initiatives such because the ASEAN SHIELD, enhancing cooperation on the blue economy, the Framework for Circular Economy for the ASEAN Economic Community and the event of the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision including the proposal to task the HLTF to discuss methods to strengthen ASEAN’s capability and institutional effectiveness. We are committed to working with others to ensure the successful implementation of these initiatives for the benefit of the ASEAN Community in the long run.
It has been practically two years that we now have fought with Covid-19. This disaster has severely affected the lives and livelihoods of our peoples and underlines the vulnerability of our area in dealing with emerging threats which will come up past our expectations. In gentle of this, I am of the view that any more, not only must ASEAN work to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and its impacts, but we additionally need to look at the lessons learnt from this disaster to reinforce the ASEAN Community’s resilience and preparedness in response to rising challenges sooner or later. Toward this finish, I wish to share my thoughts on the next issues that ASEAN should additional prioritize.
First, we want to make certain the efficient implementation of ASEAN’s initiatives on Covid-19 response. I am happy with the progress in using the Covid-19 ASEAN Response Fund for vaccine procurement. I hope that ASEAN Member States will obtain the vaccines soon and that the remaining funds be used for the procurement of more vaccines sooner or later. Additionally, Thailand has already provided the list of earmarked gadgets for the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies for Public Health Emergencies and hopes that the Reserve can be operationalized soon.
Looking ahead, ASEAN should further strengthen our preparedness in response to emerging ailments and bolster public well being safety in the lengthy term, together with by way of promoting cooperation on R&D on vaccines to attain vaccine safety and self-reliance within the region. Currently, Thailand is on track in our improvement of Covid-19 vaccines and we are able to cooperate with other ASEAN Member States on this matter. However, it is unlucky that ASEAN couldn't yet resolve the issue of the host country of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases. We ought to subsequently proceed our consultations in a constructive method and try to find an revolutionary strategy to enable ASEAN to make a decision on this issue. Besides being crucial for our credibility and unity, it will additionally benefit more than 660 million folks in the ASEAN area.
Second, ASEAN ought to start reopening and allowing for protected travel to revive our economies. The ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework must be utilized, with mutual recognition of vaccines and vaccine certificates to facilitate business journey, and later tourism. In บริการติดตั้งโซล่าเซลล์ราคาถูก , Thailand has already opened up pilot areas beneath the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus programs to welcome international tourists and will progressively open up more areas in other provinces for worldwide tourism from 1 November onwards. Furthermore, we must avoid unnecessary measures that may hinder the motion of goods to ensure our supply chain connectivity through the pandemic and make higher use of the intra-ASEAN market to stimulate our regional financial system.
To promote an setting conducive to commerce and investment and increase industrial alternatives for our entrepreneurs to assist them recover from the impact of Covid-19, I hope that RCEP can enter into force as per the intended timeline. Thailand plans to submit the instrument of ratification for RCEP to the Secretary-General of ASEAN in early November. I additionally hope that ASEAN-Canada FTA negotiations could be announced quickly.
Last but not least, Covid-19 and pure catastrophe challenges – be they climate change, floods, forest fires or transboundary haze – replicate the weakness of current growth approaches that focus primarily on financial curiosity, whereas disregarding the influence on the surroundings and natural assets, which have resulted in intensifying today’s crises. Hence, it is now time for a paradigm shift in our on a daily basis lives and for reaching a ‘Balance of All Things’. This will help make ASEAN’s restoration and development extra sustainable, in line with the Bio-Circular-Green or BCG Economy Model which for Thailand will allow the country to reinvent itself for the Next Normal period.
In this context, I imagine that an ‘ASEAN Green Agenda’ should be pursued as an approach for our region’s future in selling sustainable and environmentally-friendly financial growth, by using green technologies and innovation and prioritizing key issues which are in preserving with global developments corresponding to:
1. Transitioning to scrub vitality to minimize back carbon emissions and address global warming and climate change;
2. Efficient use of terrestrial and marine sources to preserve biodiversity which is able to promote meals safety and stop natural disasters including landslides and floods;
3. Digital inclusion to maximize digital expertise in varied features similar to smart farming, survey and monitoring of air pollution and climate, sea degree rise and windstorms, which is according to the goal of ‘Digital ASEAN;’
four. Sustainable city and community improvement to advertise the welfare and well-being of our peoples residing in urban and rural areas; and,
5. Green financing to forge a multi-stakeholder partnership to mobilize funds for environmentally-friendly investments.
These points are not new, however success in their pursuit requires transformation from all sectors, which features a change in individual habits, a change in business conduct and neighborhood empowerment. We must promote these because the ASEAN Green Agenda so as to raise public consciousness and collectively reinvent ASEAN as a progressive region and a sustainable house for all of us as well as for succeeding generations with nobody being left behind.
Your Majesty, Excellencies,,