The cabinet meeting on Tuesday12, November 2009 has come to the following decision:
The cabinet agreed in principal the frame of negotiation for transport cooperation in under ASEAN, as proposed by the Ministry of Transportation, and forwarded it to the National Assembly for further approval.
Summary of the content
1. Objective: to expand and promote the cooperation in transportation within ASEAN and negotiating countries outside the region. The cooperation will facilitate numerous industrial sectors of each country as well as increase the capacity of, and opportunity for Thai private transporters. The quality of the service, in addition would be improved to serve the Thai population. This would, in effect, benefit trades and investments, which would ultimately stimulate the economy as well as promote international practice according to international oganisations that have ASEAN members as part of the association in order to strengthen the relation between ASEAN and negotiating countries. Also, it will be part of pursuing the goal of integrating ASEAN as an economic community by 2015.
2. The form of negotiation: divided into 3 levels.
2.1. ASEAN Transport Ministerial Meeting is scheduled to held once annually.
2.2. ASEAN Senior Transport Specialist Meeting is scheduled to be held twice annually to serve as a service unit and to monitor and collaborate the direction set by the Transport Ministers.
2.3. Operational Meeting for Operation Unit, Operation Sub-unit and Specialist Unit is scheduled to be held once or twice annually. Those who will attend are the followings.
(1) Four Operation Units, namely, Transport Facilitating Unit, Waterway Transport Unit, Air Transport Unit, and Land Transport Unit.
(2) One operational Sub-unit that is the ASEAN Freeway Operational Sub-unit.
(3) Four Specialist Units, namely, Singapore-Kunming Railway Connection Unit, Road Safety Unit. Noted that there may be more appointments for additional operational sub-unit or specialist unit if appropriate for flexibility in working.
3. Key Issue
In drafting the agreement, frame and policy direction related to transport cooperation under the frame of ASEAN in every kind of transportation (road, railway, waterway, air, and other kinds of transportation). There are some important negotiation issues, for example, transport infrastructure development, transport facilities, transport safety, transport security, transportation and logistics liberalisation, support for sustainable and environmentally friendly transportation, academic and training cooperation, as well as positions of ASEAN members on issues.
The cabinet endorsed and approved 2 points as proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1. The draft on Joint Plan of Action between the Royal Thai Government and the government of the Kingdom of Spain was endorsed, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is authorised to alter wordings in sections that do not affect the spirit of the Joint Plan of Action without consulting with the cabinet.
2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is granted the authority to sign the Joint Plan of Action.
Content
The following is the summary of the Joint Plan of Action.
1. The Joint Plan of Action is a wide-range cooperation plan for both countries for the period of five years, from 2009-2015, and is written in three languages, Thai, English, and Spanish. The English version will be the main source in case there is a difference in interpretation.
2. The Joint Plan of Action is divided into three sections.
2.1. Political relation promotion
2.2. Economic relation promotion
2.3. Elevation of bilateral cooperation in other issues that both share a collective interest.
3. The Department of International Treatises ... has considered the draft of Joint Plan of Action and opined that both sides have also agreed that this Joint Plan of Action shall not be legally binding. Hence, the draft of Joint Plan of Action does not have legal binding under international laws and is not considered a treaty under article 190 of the 2007 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand. It should be noted that his follows the judgment of the Constitution Court no. 6-7/2009 on July 8, 2009, regarding Thai-Cambodian joint communiqu..., signed on June 18, 2009.
The cabinet endorsed the Asia Pacific ministerial joint statement on regional cooperation in creating Broadband Economy in Asia Pacific, as proposed by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology.
Summary of the Joint Statement
1. The draft of the Joint Statement illustrates the intention of APT nation members that is to continue the regional cooperation in developing telecommunication and information technology, as well as to consider the role and future plan of action of APT in developing regional telecommunication, including the direction of strengthening regional cooperation in developing both infrastructure and information and communication technology services. This will be crucial for the society to become Broadband Economy which will truly improve the quality of life of the population in the region. The content of the Joint Declaration focuses on the cooperation of both public and private sectors and industrial sector in developing Broadband Economy with APT as the main organisation in telecommunication and ICT technology development in Asia Pacific and as the main agency that facilitates the cooperation of Asia Pacific countries.
2. The joint statement mentions the approach of cooperation in Asia Pacific in the following issues.
A) Improve broadband connectivity
B) Provide a secure environment for all
C) Facilitate the effective integration of services
D) Encourage development of content and applications
E) Develop the human resources capacity
The cabinet endorsed the draft of APEC Ministerial Joint Statement and the draft of APEC Leaders’ Declaration, as proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1. APEC Ministerial Joint Statement is a document that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Commerce would endorse, with the intention of solving the global economic crisis, laying the foundation for sustainable and fair recovery, and expanding the economic cooperation in the Asia Pacific region. These would be done through the promotion of multilateral trades, the pursuit of Bogor goal, and the establishment of the foundation of Asia Pacific free trade area. There would also be a fast tracking of integration of economic bloc, for instance, international trade facilitation, internal economic reform, regional confidence building, human resources promotion, increase in good governance and transparency, and improvement in APEC secretariat office’s efficiency.
2. Draft of the APEC Leaders’ Declaration is a document that APEC leaders would ratify and has the intention of creating a balanced, fair and sustainable growth through the promotion of multilateral trades, anti-protectionist trade measures, speeding up of economic bloc integration, academic cooperation promotion, human resources promotion, increase in good governance and transparency, and the development of APEC secretariat office’s efficiency.
The cabinet endorsed the draft of declaration of World Summit on Food Security, as proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
Objective
To build the confidence in speedy national and international pursuit of the first millennium development goal that is to eradicate poverty and hunger and the goal set by 1996 World Summit on Food Security that is to reduce the half of number of people living with hunger and malnutrition b 2015.
It will also increase the investment in agriculture and the development in rural area, both domestically and internationally, including new investments that will increase the both the quantity and quality of yields, reducing poverty and ensuring food security for everyone as the result, for everyone will always has access to food.
In addition, it will address the issue of climate change that could affect food security and the need to adapt and relieve as well as rehabilitate the effect on the agricultural sector with an emphasis on marginal farmers and people who lack opportunity.
This declaration is considered to be just political views and requires no signing, so it does not have a legal binding in any case. Every country has a sovereignty to act or not to act accordingly.
The cabinet endorsed the First ASEAN-US Leaders’ Meeting Joint Statement, as proposed by the Ministry of foreign Affairs.
Fact
The ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed that, since the President of the United States Barack Obama and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will co-chair the First ASEAN-US Summit on November 15, 2009 in Singapore, this occasion will provide the first ASEAN-US Meeting Joint Statement, which focuses on the direction and cooperation of ASEAN and the United States in political, security, economic, and social issues. It also addresses development of world issues and support by the United States on ASEAN’s works for the eventual integration in 2015.
--Cabinet Meeting (Abhisit Vejjajiva) November 10, 2009--