Infoquest, (July 17, 2019) -- Bunyarit Kyanamitra, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, revealed that Thailand will host the 36th High Level Task Force on ASEAN Economic Integration (HLTF-EI) in Centara Grand at Central World on July 18-19, 2019.
The permanent secretaries of the ministry of commerce of 10 ASEAN countries will meet and discuss on important issues, such as the mid-term review of the AEC Blueprint 2025, and the progress of works arranged in the last meeting, for instance, ASEAN's laws, regulations and regulatory system, and the negotiation strategy of ASEAN FTA.
The HLTF-EI will mainly feature the development trend and policies of ASEAN economy, said the permanent secretary. Since ASEAN started to implement the AEC Blueprint 2025 in 2015, half of the time has passed. Therefore, it has to review the progress of the plan implementation, assess global trade and economic landscape and relevant changes, so as to formulate corresponding plans and strategies to deliver desirable goals.
In terms of economy, ASEAN should assess results in five major areas: (1) economic integration, including trade in goods, trade in service, investment liberalization, and the development of trade facilitation system, so as to adjust relevant standards and rules to facilitate the free flow of goods. (2) Policies and regulations conducive to regional competition, such as trade competition policies, consumer protection law, and intellectual property law. (3) Cooperation among economic sectors, such as the further cooperation among transportation, telecommunication, IT, and e-commerce fields. (4) Cooperation engaging all sectors, i.e., intensifying the role of SMEs and their cooperation with other players of private sector. (5) Integration with world economy, such as enhancing the free trade agreements concluded between ASEAN and its partners outside ASEAN region.
At the HLTF-EI, attendees will also discuss the progress of ASEAN regulation administration system research, to ensure that each system is transparent and fit with international principles. The research results will be submitted to ASEAN economic ministers in late this year. Meanwhile, attendees will also exchange ideas on the formulation of standards governing the economic relations with trading partners outside ASEAN, which will be used to assess the trading partners which may become negotiators of ASEAN FTA. They will also discuss the priority economic deliverables of major economic works in 13 aspects of three fields which ASEAN have to deliver this year.
In 2018, the total trade volume between Thailand and ASEAN stood at 113.934 billion U.S. dollars, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent. In 2018, Thailand's total exports to ASEAN reached 68.437 billion U.S. dollars, and its total imports from ASEAN were 45.497 billion U.S. dollars, with a trade surplus of 22.94 billion U.S. dollars. Currently, Thailand's exports to ASEAN account for 27 percent of its total exports.
Source: InfoQuest, by Panu / Thanawat / Ratchada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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