Bunyarit Kyanamitra, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that the ministry plans to host the 35th Meeting of High Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) in Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort, Bangkok during March 12 and 13, 2019. At the level of permanent secretaries of the ministries of commerce in ASEAN, this meeting is to discuss the follow-up of key measures implementation under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and exchange view on the issues that are conducive to promoting the economic growth of ASEAN.
Main discussion contents include: (1) The suggestion put forward by Thailand, the Chair of ASEAN for 2019, which indicates that ASEAN countries should work together to realize the goals (economic outcomes are the top priority) for 2019. Such proposal has been agreed on among ASEAN countries, and will be submitted to the meeting of the High-Level Working Group prior to the ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting to be held in April; (2) ASEAN's preparation for the Fourth Industrial Revolution; (3) The formulation of ASEAN regulatory management system, which lays a foundation for the effective establishment of ASEAN countries' laws and regulations; (4) The improvement of ASEAN working mechanism, which is aimed to make the working mechanism fully leveraged and respond to new problems may rise, and so on.
Mr. Bunyarit added that, Thailand has determined the theme for Thailand's chairmanship term, namely, "Advancing Partnership for Sustainability". In other words, the Kingdom hopes to develop an ASEAN community that is people-centered and inclusive for all, looking to the future collectively. In addition, the Chair of ASEAN has proposed 13 key points concerning economic outcomes in following three fields: (1) Future Orientation, which provides guidance to and suggestion on human resources development for ASEAN to better respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and encourage increasing number of small enterprises in ASEAN to use digital technology, etc.; (2) Enhanced Connectivity, which suggests to link electronic systems of ASEAN countries, so as to integrate ten member states' negotiation outcomes related to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the overall plan on food and tourism industries in ASEAN; (3) Sustainable in all dimensions, which prioritizes the formulation of the guiding principles for sustainable cooperation in fishery industry and for sustainable development of ASEAN capital market, etc.
In 2018, Thailand's total trade with ASEAN reached 113.934 billion U.S. dollars, increasing 13% compared to 2017. Thailand's total exports to ASEAN were valued at 68.437 billion U.S. dollars, while the imports from the region stood at 45.497 billion U.S. dollars, making the trade surplus of 22.94 billion U.S. dollars. At the moment, the value of Thailand's exports to ASEAN accounted for 27% of the Kingdom's total exports.
Source: InfoQuest, By ilaval Pongpitak, InfoQuest
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