The Cabinet met on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at Command Building1, Government House. Some of the resolutions are as follows;
Title: Halal Development and Promotion Strategy (2016-2020)
The Cabinet agreed to the proposal made by Ministry of Industry as follows:
1. Agreed to the Halal Development and Promotion Strategy (2016-2020) and the Action Plan under the Strategy;
2. Appointed relevant agencies to implement Halal Development and Promotion Strategy (2016-2020) and the Action Plan under the Strategy; and
3. Approved the Bureau of Budget to allocate budget for implementation of the Action Plan under the Halal Development and Promotion Strategy (2016-2020) by relevant agencies.
Gist of the matter
1. Ministry of Industry reported that Halal Development and Promotion Strategy (2016-2020) and Action Plan under the Strategy were put together with the vision of “creating and developing Thai halal products and services to meet quality standards in the world market with religion-certified halal science.”
Objective: To promote and support Thailand as a key manufacturing and export base for halal products and services in the ASEAN region and the world in order to increase the country’s revenue, build awareness and trust in Thai halal products, and promote expansion of the halal service sector. There are four strategies as follows:
Strategy 1 Enhancing potential for development of halal standards and certification
Strategy 2 Enhancing potential for manufacturing of halal products and services
Strategy 3 Development of halal market
Strategy 4 Development of R&D in halal science to reinforce the country’s halal industry
A 5-year Action Plan is in place.
Key agencies responsible for the implementation of the Action Plan are Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Industry, and Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre. Religious and private organizations are also taking part in the Strategy, such as the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, Provincial Islamic Committees, Sheikhul Islam Office, the Halal Standard Institute of Thailand, Federation of Thai Industries, Board of Trade of Thailand, and Tourism Council of Thailand.
Title: Approval for Thai Government to host workshops in collaboration with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
The Cabinet approved for the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP), Ministry of Science and Technology to host 3 workshops as proposed by Ministry of Science and Technology. The Office of Atoms for Peace, in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will notify the Permanent Mission of Thailand to Vienna and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accordingly.
Gist of the matter
Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Department of International Organizations informed the Office of Atoms for Peace, IAEA’s national coordinating office, that IAEA has requested the Thai Government to consider hosting the 3 following workshops:
1. Regional Workshop on Safety and security during Transport of Radioactive Material during June 22-26, 2015 in Bangkok;
2. Regional Workshop on Integrated Nuclear Security Support Plans (INSSPs) for Member States in South–East Asia during August 17-20, 2015 in Chiang Mai; and
3 Regional Workshop to Identify National Approaches to Integrate Safety Culture Concepts Into the Regulatory Framework during July 6-10, 2015 in Bangkok.
Title: 7th Economic Corridor Forum under Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Program and Joint Ministerial Statement
The Cabinet agreed to the proposal made by Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) as follows:
1. The Cabinet appointed Deputy Minister of Transport and Secretary-General of National Economic and Social Development Board Akom Termpittayapaisith as Head of Thai delegation and Minister in the 7th Economic Corridor Forum under the GMS Economic Cooperation Program during June 10-11, 2015 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, People’s Republic of China;
2. The Cabinet agreed to the Joint Ministerial Statement on the 7th Economic Corridor Forum, which is to be adopted by Deputy Minister of Transport and Secretary-General of National Economic and Social Development Board Akom Termpittayapaisith and other GMS ministers without signature at the 7th Economic Corridor Forum on June 11, 2015; and
3. The Cabinet approved for Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board to amend the Joint Ministerial Statement in places not affecting gist of the forum without the need to obtain another Cabinet agreement.
The Joint Ministerial Statement mainly compliments the implementation, cooperation policy and the spirit of member states in promoting collaboration. It is also an endorsement of important activities and implementations by branches of cooperation on economic corridor development. The Joint Ministerial Statement is not intended to create obligation under international law; therefore, it is neither a contract under international law, nor a contract according to Section 23 of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (Interim), B.E. 2557. The Joint Ministerial Statement was amended upon discussion at a GMS Senior Officials Meeting through video conference on May 11, 2015.
--Cabinet Meeting (Prayut Chan-o-cha) June 2, 2015--