Remarks by H.E. Mr. Surapong Tovichackchaikul, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand at the Informal Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the CICA Member States on the sidelines of the UNGA66 in New York, 26 September 2011
__________________
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honour and a great pleasure for me to be here at this gathering. I appreciate the Turkish Chairmanship for kindly hosting this important event.
19 years ago, President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan initiated the idea of setting up a mechanism to forge peace, stability and security in Asia. Today, I am very glad to see that his vision has taken a strong foothold in the international arena, as evidenced from the members represented here today.
Thailand wishes to reaffirm our commitment to continue to place high importance to CICA. We will strive to move forward CICA together with other Member States. I believe mutual understanding and close interactions among Member States are essential to achieve peace, stability and security in the region.
Thailand is very pleased to contribute towards CICA. The CICA Business Forum and Small and Medium Enterprises’ Networking held in March 2011 in Bangkok with participation of 81 participants from 12 CICA Member States was aimed at generating exchanges of views, experiences and best practices in the promotion of SMEs development. All of us have recognised that SMEs are the backbone of our economies, generating incomes and employment for the large portion of our workforce. I believe this area of cooperation will benefit all of our economies and we should continue to support SMEs to play an important role in driving our economies.
Narcotic drug is a threat to the development of our countries and the well-being of our peoples. We need to address this transnational issue together. In this regard, I am pleased to invite all CICA Member States to send their relevant officials to participate in the International Narcotic Law Enforcement Training, which will be held during 21 — 30 November this year in Thailand.
Participating officials will not only be able to expand their knowledge from the training modules and exchange valuable modus operandi, but they will also have an opportunity to observe the alternative development projects under the Royal Initiatives of His Majesty the King of Thailand in the northern part of our country where narcotic crops are substantially reduced and the better livelihood of the people in remote areas has been achieved.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As CICA turns 19 in a rapidly changing international landscape, there is a growing need to further deepen our cooperation in ways which would best benefit our countries and peoples. Traditional challenges, such as security, still remain. However, new emerging challenges such as human security and climate change also require our close attention.
We need to do our utmost to accelerate the effective implementation of our cooperation programmes, such as the promotion of SMEs’ network, border security, development of transport linkages, environmental cooperation, fight against transnational organized crimes, and promotion of people-to-people contact. These bonds and values will certainly lead to a stronger partnership in the future.
We should also encourage the CICA process as a platform for countries in the region to deal with challenges in political and security environment. Let us work closely in a more pro-active and forward-looking manner in this area of cooperation so that it will enable us to meet the common challenges affecting our regional stability.
Thailand appreciates the Turkish Chairmanship for pushing forward the CICA process in this direction. This framework of cooperation will serve as a tool for attaining new height of expanded cooperation and mutual understanding between Member States, and will also contribute towards our regional security and beyond. Thailand stands ready to support this endeavour.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
CICA is an open forum aiming at creating a common and indivisible area of security in Asia through the enhancement of interactions and confidence among the Member States. In this regard, it is desirable for the CICA process to pursue cooperation with other multilateral frameworks through coordination as well as constructive engagements and communications to seek mutually acceptable resolutions for issues and conflicts in Asia.
As world economies compete for the depleting fossil fuels as energy sources, I believe it is also crucial that Member States must join hands in finding viable alternative energy resources as one of important agenda of the CICA.
Furthermore, more frequent occurrences of natural disasters have posed serious challenges to many CICA Member States. I believe it is imperative for CICA Member States to make a cooperative effort on capacity-building in disaster relief operations. CICA should seek to improve and strengthen cooperation on regional disaster relief management.
In concluding, may I take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to the Turkish Chairmanship for the preparation of this meeting which marks a significant step in the evolution of the CICA process, as envisioned by participating CICA members at the Third CICA Summit in 2010. I am confident that under Turkey’s Chairmanship, CICA is in safe hands to achieve a higher level of cooperation and further reinforce peace, stability and security in the region.
Thank you.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th