World must end poverty, inequality: PM tells UN

“The new agenda is a promise by leaders to all people everywhere. It is an agenda for people to end poverty in all its forms – an agenda for the planet, our common home,” declared the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday as he officially opened the UN Sustainable Development Summit, that kicked off Friday and wraps up today. The new development goals aim to build on the work of the Millennium Development Goals, which was launched in September 2000 and rallied the world around a common 15-year agenda to tackle the indignity of poverty.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha joined an interactive dialogue summit session on ending poverty and hunger and addressed Thailand’s approaches to sustainable development. He praised the new goals, saying the mission for the next 15 years was not only to eradicate poverty but to reduce inequality. “This is a major challenge for sustainable development. And all countries, large and small, must rise to the occasion to carry on the unfinished business of the MDGs,” he said.

Prayut said his government aimed to create equal opportunity and access to natural resources because he did not want to leave anyone behind.

In a prepared speech the Thai premier, who came to power in the May 2014 coup that toppled an elected government, said: “We cannot allow the abuse of political power at the expense of the majority, which in the past has led to social discord and exploitation, injustice and corruption. These are root causes of conflict and division in Thai society today.

“The first priorities of my administration are to return happiness and harmony to Thai society, to reduce inequality, to render justice, to forge social cohesiveness and to rapidly redress economic and social troubles.”

Thailand was moving forward to comprehensive reforms and the drafting of a new constitution that truly meets people’s needs and demands, he said.

“Throughout these processes, we encourage all social sectors to participate fully and freely,” Prayut said, adding that the government must be responsible in putting into place a proper framework and creating social equality so that everyone can have access to education, social healthcare, social welfare and legal protection. Thailand’s development approach was inspired by His Majesty the King’s sufficiency economy philosophy, which he said, had for decades successfully led our country on the path to all-inclusive and sustainable development.

After the meeting, Prime Minister Prayut visited an exhibition on the sufficiency economy philosophy organised by his government at the UN headquarters in New York. Prayut also met with the US-Asean Business Council at the Metropolitan Club to brief its members on the political and economic developments in Thailand as well as the road map for reform.

The government was fully committed to the road map and according to that plan a general election may happen in over a year, he said.

The government would make the most of the available time left to set up the groundwork for reform so the country becomes more internationalised and more competitive, he said. Basic infrastructure would be established on all fronts to provide flexibility for Thais and facilitate investment in Thailand, he said.

The government was prepared to tackle issues largely neglected over the years, such as human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, he said.