Yingluck offers to host 2015 ACD, meets Kuwait PM
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has offered Thailand as the host for the next Asia Cooperation Dialogue meeting in 2015 in view of the country's central role in bridging not only trade and tourism but also cultural ties.
“We want to promote physical connections, which link from within Thailand to Asean and Asia, for thorough development of the country itself and then relations with the region in terms of society, people and culture. Asia has strong diversity and countries can complement each other in their strengths such as in energy and food,” she said yesterday.
The ACD has been promoted successfully over the past 10 years and now counts 32 member countries. Thailand has played a significant part in encouraging cooperation especially in the areas of trade and tourism, she told the three-day ACD conference in Kuwait that ended yesterday.
“All member countries have urged the collaboration to be physically developed. We have also suggested having a special ACD committee with responsibility to push and mobilise those trade and investment initiatives as discussed by the leaders,” she said.
The ACD meeting agreed to narrow the economic gap within the region and overcome natural disasters together. Amid the global recession, all country leaders in Asia would look back to their countries to focus on sustainable development.
After the closing session, Yingluck discussed with Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, the prime minister of Kuwait, about trade and investment cooperation, especially in food and energy.
On Tuesday afternoon, she met separately with the national leaders of Bahrain, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to reinforce relationships and cooperation between the countries.
Thailand wants to forge closer cooperation with Bahrain in various industries, including food, energy and finance, as well as in private investment, she told King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.
Her talks with Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf touched on further investment and trade cooperation in the construction of basic infrastructure and in the energy, automobile, agricultural products, jewellery, halal foods and tourism industries.
Pakistan will support Thailand at the Organisation of the Islamic Conference session when the country outlines its measures to solve the southern unrest, which are in line with His Majesty the King’s speech stressing educational development, elimination of discrimination and improvement of public healthcare.
Thailand was interested in pursuing greater cooperation with Sri Lanka in investment and trade, including infrastructure development, tourism and agriculture, she assured President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
