The Cabinet met on Tuesday, April 24, 2018, at the Government House. Some of the resolutions are as follows:
The cabinet approved the following proposals made by Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives:
1. Approved for the Ministry and Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to implement Pracharat agricultural measures to reduce production cost of farmers and agricultural institutes.
2. Approved in principle loan scheme for the budget of 90 billion Baht to reduce production cost of farmers
3. Approved in principle tailor-made fertilizer provision scheme for the budget of 3.6 billion Baht
In accordance with the Government’s policy to support farmers and agricultural institutes in production cost reduction, and competitiveness enhancement, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, in collaboration with BAAC implement “Pracharat agricultural measures to reduce production cost of farmers and agricultural institutes” through 2 schemes, that is, 1) loan scheme to reduce production cost of farmers; and 2) tailor-made fertilizer provision scheme through farmer institutes.
The cabinet approved Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s proposals as follows:
1. Approved for Thailand’s membership in The United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD Programme)
2. Approved Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation as operation agency of the UN-REDD Programme.
3. Approved for Permanent Secretary to Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to sign the letter of intent for Thailand’s membership in the UN-REDD Programme.
Forest Department reported that Thailand’s membership of in the UN-REDD Programme came as a result of its attendance at “Regional Workshop on Harnessing Climate Change Financing for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) in Southeast Asia” held in Bangkok during March 23-25, 2015. Implementation of the UN-REDD Programme will benefit the country’s forestry affairs as a whole through technology transfer and knowledge exchange within the REDD+ framework. Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning, as laiaison office for the operation under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also agreed that the program will benefit the country’s climate change-related operations.
The cabinet approved the following proposals made by Office of National Economic and Social Development Board as follows:
1. Approved Draft Joint Leaders’ Statement of Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT–GT). Should there be an amendment in parts that are not gist of the document, Office of National Economic and Social Development Board is authorized to proceed without having to resubmit to the cabinet for its approval.
2. Approved for the Prime Minister to join with leaders of IMT-GT member countries in endorsing the document on April 28, 2018.
(The 32nd ASEAN Summit and other related summits will be held on April 25-28, 2018 in the Republic of Singapore).
The cabinet approved Thailand’s ASEAN chairmanship for 2019 as a national agenda, and enjoined public agencies, organizations, and all sectors to join hands in organizing related meetings and activities, as well as implementing various ASEAN initiatives in an orderly and efficient manner during the country’s chairmanship in order to promote Thailand’s role at an international stage. All sectors are encouraged to organize events to create awareness on ASEAN Community among the Thai people for them to learn how to and just themselves, take advantage, and be aware of the benefits they will receive under the ASEAN framework. This is as proposed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
As stipulated in the ASEAN Charter that the chairmanship of ASEAN shall rotate annually based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States, Thailand will assume ASEAN chairmanship during Janaury- December 2019 after Singapore. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with other concerned agencies, has already set plan for the organization of ASEAN Summit and other related meetings in 2019. A national-level committee, chaired by the Prime Minister, has also been set to prepare for the meetings.
The cabinet approved the following proposals made by Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
1. Approved the following 3 documents:
a. ASEAN Leaders’s Vision for a Resilient and Innovative ASEAN
b. ASEAN Leaders’s Statement on Cybersecurity Cooperation
c. Concept Note on ASEAN Smart Cities Network
Should there be an amendment in parts that are not gist nor are against Thailand’s interests, Ministry of Foreign Affairs or responsible agencies are authorized to proceed without having to resubmit to the cabinet for another approval.
2. Approved for Minister of Foreign Affairs or a representative to endorse the above documents at the meeting of ASEAN Coordinating Council
3. Approved for the Prime Minister or a representative to endorse the above documents at the 32nd ASEAN Summit.
(The 32nd ASEAN Summit and other related summits will be held on April 25-28, 2018 in the Republic of Singapore).
--Cabinet Meeting (Prayut Chan-o-cha) April 24, 2018--