On 6 November 2008, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornviviat attended the ACMECS Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam, in preparation for the Third ACMECS Summit, to be held the following day.
In his intervention during the Meeting, the DPM/FM noted that given the current international economic environment, it was important for ACMECS countries to work even harder to strengthen their cooperation. In the field of trade and investment facilitation, for which Thailand was the lead coordinating country, the DPM/FM called for more intra-trade and investment among the ACMECS countries. He also called for the establishment of more one-stop-service centres along the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC), the setting up of Single Stop Inspection points, as well as a Logistics Support Services and Freight Operators Cooperation Network, at major border areas.
In the area of agricultural cooperation, the DPM/FM highlighted the issue of contract farming. Here, while the draft MOUs on contract farming had yet to be finalised, he proposed that interim dialogues among the ACMECS members be organised so as to enable their authorities concerned to discuss annual plans, impediments, and solutions to any problems raised. On HRD, Thailand would continue to provide training programmes and scholarships to both the public and private sectors. On cooperation in transport linkages, Thailand was keen to promote cross-border linkages among ACMECS countries, especially “missing link” projects to complement the transportation networks under the GMS framework.
The DPM/FM also emphasised closer cooperation with Development Partners by building upon the draft Guidelines for Development Partners’ Participation in ACMECS Projects, agreed upon at the ACMECS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Mandalay last year. (The full text of the DPM/FM’s intervention,please see the attached document)
Immediately after the Meeting, the DPM/FM together with Mr. Dam Huu Dac, the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, signed the MOU between Thailand and Vietnam on Vocational Training Development in ACMECS Countries. This MOU paves the way for closer coordination and cooperation between both countries on capacity building for vocational training and training of trainers for Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam.
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