The cabinet met on Tuesday, May 21, 2013. Some of the decisions are as follows:
Following the suggestion from the Ministry of Education, the Cabinet acknowledged the action plan for national strategy on early childhood B.E. 2555-2559 in order to enable concerned agencies to execute the plans according to the government policy of early childhood B.E. 2555-2559.
Gist
Action plans for national strategy on early childhood (newborn to pre-primary school) based on the government policy of early childhood B.E. 2555-2559 is composed of projects/plans under the following 4 strategies:
1) 1st Strategy: Every child is entitled to full potential development services
There are 91 projects / plans under this strategy, such as children identification card project for newborn to 6 year olds, a project for birth registration development, and a project to promote highland mother and child’s nutrition and hygiene.
2) 2nd Strategy: Iodine and the early childhood development
There are 30 projects / plans under this strategy which includes project for the prevention of iodine deficiency B.E. 2556, and an integrated project for the prevention of iodine deficiency.
3) 3rd Strategy: Early childhood upbringing
There are 73 projects / plans under this strategy, such as a project to promote reading among Thai children to celebrate HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s birthday on 2 April, which is the national children’s book day, and activities for the development of early childhood in the disadvantaged communities.
4) 4th Strategy: Operating mechanism for early childhood development
There are 10 projects / plans under this strategy, for example, meetings of Early Childhood Development Committee, and research project to monitor early childhood situation in the remote areas.
The Cabinet acknowledged and agreed with the proposals from the PM’s Office Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan in his capacity as chairman of Thailand’s coordinating committee for the development of Dawei Special Economic Zone and of relating project areas. The details are as follows:
1. Acknowledged the result of the 2nd Myanmar-Thailand taskforce meeting.
2. Agreed for the Ministry of Finance through Neighboring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA) to be the co-founder and investor in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Dawei SEZ Development Ltd. along with Myanmar’s agency (Foreign Economic Relation Department - FERD) in the proportion not exceeding 50% of the company’s total shares or 100 million baht sum. NEDA is to proceed in accordance with the law and regulations.
Gist of the result of 2nd Myanmar-Thailand taskforce meeting on 7-10 May 2013
1. The meeting reviewed and approved draft Shareholders Agreement for the establishment of the SPV between Thailand’s NEDA and Myanmar’s FERD.
2. The meeting acknowledged study conducted by Japanese experts on overall development of Dawei Special Economic Zone Project, and suggested the Government of Myanmar to consider Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment scheme for the infrastructure projects (ports and roads) in order to attract investment from private sectors and to make the project commercially feasible.
3. The meeting agreed on the issue of relocation that the Government of Myanmar would plan and execute the relocation of existing communities.
The Cabinet agreed with the draft negotiation framework for the elevation of ASEAN +3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) as an international organization following the suggestion of Ministry of Finance and passed to the Parliament for further approval.
Gist of the draft negotiation framework
1. Establishment of organization
The purpose to upgrade AMRO as an international organization is to develop AMRO’s operating efficiency to be more liberated in the assessment of economic and monetary condition of ASEAN+3’s member states.
2. Administrative structure
The administration of AMRO will be under the supervision of senior officers from the Ministry of Finance and ASEAN+3 Central Banks.
3. Privileges and Immunities (P&I)
P&I of AMRO and its personnel should be in accordance with the functional necessity principle and should not exceed P&I of other international organizations that have similar structure and objective such as Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). In addition, it must be in accordance with the restriction of domestic law of each member state.
4. Conflict resolution
In case a conflict between the member states and AMRO arises, international conflict resolution mechanism may be adopted such as Tribunal.
5. Other related matters
The negotiation on other related matters must be conducted with the best interest of the country in mind.
Following the suggestion from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as informed by The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Kingdom of Thailand, the Cabinet approved the Republic of Kazakhstan’s proposal to appoint Mr. Marat Yesenbayev as the first ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Thailand with his residency in Bangkok.
--Cabinet Meeting (Yingluck Shinawatra) May 21, 2013--