The Department of ASEAN Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the Pollution Control Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, will organise the Launch Ceremony of the "Joint Plan of Action - CLEAR Sky Strategy" and a Seminar on "CLEAR Sky Strategy - Tackling Transboundary Haze in ASEAN" on Tuesday, 29 October 2024 from 13.00 hrs to 16.30 hrs. at Vithes Samosorn Hall, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The launch will be presided over by H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Chalermchai Sri-on, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.
The "Launch Ceremony of the Joint Plan of Action - CLEAR Sky Strategy" aims to officially launch the Joint Plan of Action under the CLEAR Sky Strategy (2024-2030) which was formulated as per guidance given by the Leaders of Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar via video conference on 7 April 2023. The Joint Plan of Action sets out areas of cooperation and measures to effectively address transboundary haze issues. For the launch of the Joint Plan of Action, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also invited the Minister of Natural Resources of the Lao PDR and the Union Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation of Myanmar to take part at the Launch Ceremony.
The Seminar will feature discussions on how to effectively resolve transboundary haze pollution, particularly through the Joint Plan of Action, by experts from (1) Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, (2) Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore, (3) Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, (4) Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand, (5) World Health Organization South-East Asia Region (WHO SEARO), (6) Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), (7) Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), and (8) the World Bank.
In addition, there will be a special exhibition on existing regional cooperation in tackling transboundary haze pollution to be presented by the relevant agencies, namely the Department of ASEAN Affairs and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Pollution Control Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, GIZ, and ADPC.