The cabinet met on Tuesday, September 24, 2013. Some of the decisions are as follows:
The Cabinet acknowledged implementation on the establishment of sister cities following the suggestion from Ministry of Interior.
Gist
Ministry of Interior has gathered information on the establishment of sister cities in accordance with the Cabinet’s resolution made on August 6, 2013. Gist as follows:
1. Twenty nine (29) provinces have signed agreements on the establishment of sister cities with 14 countries (57 partners).
2. Eleven (11) pairs are in the process of initiating the establishment of the sister cities.
3. Noteworthy activities for the promotion of sister city cooperation have been held among thirteen (13) Thai provinces and twenty three (23) foreign provinces/cities.
4. To comply with the Government’s policy on the promotion of effective sister city cooperation, Ministry of Interior notified each province on the Government’s endorsement of international cooperation at a provincial level through sister city partnership in order to develop economic, social, cultural, education and tourism cooperation. Ministry of Interior also called for each province to keep in mind appropriateness, principles, and preparedness for the best interests of the province and the country as a whole.
Following the suggestion from Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Cabinet,
1. Agreed and approved the signing of memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Food and Agriculture Cooperation.
2. Approved in principle if necessity arises to amend the memorandum in the inessential parts, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives may proceed without the Cabinet’s deliberation.
3. Approved for the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister or an authorized person to sign the memorandum.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to arrange the Full Power for the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister or an authorized signatory.
Gist
Purpose of this draft memorandum is to promote cooperation on capacity enhancement, research and development, technology transfer on food, and agriculture, as well as food security for the sake of mutual relations, academic cooperation on food and international agriculture between ASEAN members and the People's Republic of China.
The Cabinet agreed with the following suggestions from Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
1. Agreed with the draft Leaders’ Declaration of the 21st APEC Summit and approved for the Prime Minister to endorse the Declaration.
2. Agreed with the 25th APEC Ministerial Joint Statement and approved for the Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Affairs Minister and Deputy Prime Minister-cum- Commerce Minister to jointly endorse the Statement.
3. Should necessity arise to amend the two documents in inessential parts before the endorsement for the sake of the country’s benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Commerce may proceed further without submitting to the Cabinet for its consideration.
Gist
The APEC Leaders’ Declaration and Ministerial Joint Statement are the declarations under APEC framework which aim to express policy intention on the cooperation and promotion of trade and investment among economic zones in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as connectivity in various aspects. The 21st APEC Summit and the 25th APEC Ministerial meeting will be held during October 4-8, 2013.
The Cabinet approved the preparation of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Department of International Trade Promotion and Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in different countries within ASEAN region as proposed by Ministry of Commerce.
Gist
Ministry of Commerce has prepared the MOU with the following Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) which covers cooperation on information exchange, joint trade activities, promotion and facilitation for trade representatives, and trade facilitation:
1. Trade Promotion Department of the Kingdom of Cambodia
2. Directorate General of National Export Development of the Republic of Indonesia
3. Trade and Product Promotion Department of the Lao People's Democratic Republic
4. Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions of the Republic of the Philippines
5. International Enterprise Singapore of the Republic of Singapore
6. Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
As proposed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet approved in principle to recognize the Republic of Kosovo through the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Kosovo in order to promote mutual relations, as well as politic, economic and social cooperation in both bilateral and international levels. The establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Kosovo must proceed with appropriate procedures and a proper timing, which will be under the deliberation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Following the notification from the Royal Thai Embassy in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines, the Cabinet approved request of the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to appoint Mr. Thomas D. Kijiner as first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to Thailand (residence: Tokyo, Japan), as proposed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
--Cabinet Meeting (Yingluck Shinawatra) September 24, 2013--