The Cabinet met on Tuesday July 18, 2017, at Command Building I, Government House. Some of the resolutions are as follows:
The Cabinet approved human resource development strategy for Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) (B.E. 2560 - 2564), as proposed by Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education is to cooperate with concerned agencies in formulating an integrated human resource development plan to accommodate the development of EEC. Human resource development strategy for Eastern Economic Corridor (B.E. 2560 - 2564), which aims to uplift quality and standard of vocational education, consists of 6 strategies:
1st Strategy: Managing vocational education for social and national stability
2nd Strategy: Developing and producing human resources in vocational education, focusing on research and innovation, to enhance country’s competitiveness
3rd Strategy: Developing human resource in vocational education at all ages, and promoting learning society
4th Strategy: Creating equal opportunity in vocational education
5th Strategy: Encouraging learning in and outside of the classroom for quality of life
6th Strategy: Mobilizing national economy through researches at all levels for rebalance and development of public sector management
The Cabinet agreed upon the proposals made by Ministry of Foreign Affairs as follows:
1. Agreed on the (Draft) Ministerial Declaration of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the ECOSOC High-level Segment
2. Should there be any amendment, if not affecting gist of the aforementioned document or against benefits of Thailand, head of Thai delegation is to proceed without any further approval from the Cabinet.
The (Draft) Ministerial Declaration focuses on achieving the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and covers such issues as:
1. People-centeredness and economic, social, and environmental balances
2. First priority on the most neglected in eradication of poverty
3. Promotion of fair and peaceful society on the basis of human rights and the rights to development.
4. Investment in children, teens, and young adults.
5. Immediate threats resulting from climate change, and endorsement of the Paris Agreement.
The Cabinet approved proposals made by Ministry of Commerce as follows:
1. Agreed to the Joint Declaration on the Negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and Turkey
2. Minister of Commerce or his representative is authorized as signatory. Should there be any amendment, if not affecting gist of the aforementioned document or against the principle the Cabinet has approved, Head of Thai delegation is to proceed and later inform the Cabinet accordingly.
1. Objective: To express joint intent of negotiating countries to begin the negotiation on Free Trade Agreement
2. To set the dates of first round of the negotiation on July 19-20, 2017
3. To proceed in accordance with Terms of Reference Negotiation Guideline for Turkey-Thailand (FTA) and the Guideline for Trade in Goods Negotiation for Turkey-Thailand (FTA) which were agreed upon in the preparation meeting on May 21-22, 2017 in Bangkok.
The Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and Turkey aims to minimize impact from Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), and expand Thailand’s export base in countries in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, North Africa, the Balkans, and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Thai products and services that would benefit from the Agreement are automobile, refrigerators, polystyrene plastic, textile, grain, halal food, organic chemicals, plastics, rubber products, electronics and electronics machinery and equipment, as well as automotive parts, tourism businesses, restaurants, hotels, spas, conventions and exhibitions business, agricultural and fishery processing industries.
The Cabinet agreed and approved proposals made by Ministry of Foreign Affairs as follows:
1. Approved draft outcome document for the 6th Thailand (Northern Region)-Yunnan Working Group Meeting
2. Director-General of the Department of East Asia or his representative is authorized as signatory.
3. Should there be any amendment, if not affecting gist of the aforementioned document, Ministry of Foreign Affairs is to proceed without further approval from the Cabinet.
The draft document stipulates directions and guidelines on expansion of cooperation in the following fields:
1. Trade facilitation,
2. Investment Promotion and Facilitation,
3. Transport,
4. Agriculture,
5. Cooperation in medicine and public health,
6. Relations with neighboring countries,
7. Tourism,
8. Education, culture and sports,
9. Security cooperation,
10. Science, Technology, innovation and technical cooperation,
11. Financial cooperation,
12. Energy, and
13. Digital and telecommunications.
The Cabinet agreed and approved proposal made by the Ministry of Commerce as follows:
1. Approved (draft) TOR for the Working Group on Cross-border Economic Cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Framework
2. Director-General of the Department of Trade Negotiations or his representative is authorized as signatory.
3. Should there be any amendment, if not affecting gist of the aforementioned document or against the principle the Cabinet has approved, Ministry of Commerce is to proceed and later inform the Cabinet accordingly.
Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Working Group on Cross-border Economic Cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Framework are as follows:
1. Objectives: To establish a working group for mobilizing implementations related to cross-border economic cooperation under the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Framework
2. Scope of duties: To promote trade, investment and economic cooperation among member countries, as well as to promote other cooperation, i.e., investment, physical and regulatory connectivity, infrastructure, industrial park development, special economic zone development, human resources development, financial cooperation, and other areas agreed upon by member countries.
3. The working group consists of Director-General or Deputy Director-General of Ministry of Commerce or Ministry of Economic of Cambodia, China, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
4. Meeting and Reporting: The working group will meet once a year or as agreed by the members. They will report to concerned department and senior officers, ministers and leaders respectively.
--Cabinet Meeting (Prayut Chan-o-cha) July 18, 2017--