US puts Thailand's brainchild 'BCG Economy' on Apec Summit agenda
Thailand's Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy idea, which was a part of Bangkok Goals at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in Bangkok last year, would be included in the next summit being hosted by the United States, the Thai Department of Trade Negotiations said on Tuesday.
Commerce Ministry deputy permanent secretary Ekachat Seetavorarat has been delegated to attend the summit in Detroit, Michigan from Thursday to Friday (May 25-26), said department director-general Auramon Supthaweethum said.
She said there will be many discussions during the summit, such as Apec's role in supporting multilateral trading, promoting sustainable and inclusive trade through concrete guidelines, a continuation of Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy, and driving the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and Aotearoa Plan of Action to deal with global environmental challenges.
The US, as the host of this year's Apec Summit, would pay attention to the continuation of results from the summit in Thailand last year, especially discussions about Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy, she said.
This shows that Apec members are still committed to developing trade together with sustainability, inclusiveness and participation of all sectors.
She said the US has prepared "Manoa Agenda for Sustainable and Inclusive Economies" to encourage Apec economies to work on Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy.
This agenda will promote ministerial meetings to show outcomes related to sustainability and inclusiveness, and building engagement with stakeholders, she said.
In addition, the summit will discuss ways to promote regional collaboration to facilitate marine waste collection, she added.
The Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy provides a comprehensive framework to advance sustainable development agenda in the Asia-Pacific region.
Bangkok Goals address four main areas: environmental challenges, trade and investment, environment and natural resources, resource efficiency and sustainable waste management.
The trade between Thailand and Apec last year was worth 14 trillion baht, including 6.9 trillion baht in exports and 7.2 trillion baht in imports.
