Promoting Thailand’s exports and addressing food security concerns are among the major issues to be raised at two regional meetings in China, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Wednesday.
Ms Paetongtarn is attending the eighth Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Economic Cooperation Summit and the 10th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) summit in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. The two meetings will end on Thursday.
Speaking before her departure, Ms Paetongtarn said the visit presented an opportunity for the Thai government to deepen its cooperation with regional leaders and follow up on talks at the Asean summit in Laos in October to expand trade and investment opportunities.
“We will seek cooperation to expand our export markets, especially in the food security sector, which is becoming a global concern,” she said. “Thailand is ready to support food security as it has technology and innovation at its disposal to help.”
She also stressed the need for regional leaders to work together to address other pressing concerns such as floods, drought and air pollution.
Thailand is ready to learn from its neighbours’ experiences in disaster prevention and management, as well as their technologies and early warning systems in order to prevent future disasters such as the recent flooding in Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, Ms Paetongtarn said.
She said she would also seek talks with neighbouring countries to find ways to combat transboundary haze pollution that returns almost every dry season.
At the GMS Summit, the president of the Asian Development Bank and representatives of the GMS Business Council joined the leaders of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and China.
They were due to discuss how to curb disparities in the sub-region through three pillars: connectivity, competitiveness and community, according to government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub.
The Acmecs meeting, chaired by Laos, is reviewing the progress of its 2019-23 master plan.