Following a nod from the public to the new draft constitution last month, Thailand’s regional and international profile has improved. For now, the country will spend the rest of the year fully engaged with global communities. It is also moving forward on a new path of consolidating its position in regional and international economic networks.

The relative calm currently prevailing on the home front is enabling Thai policymakers to look ahead and position the country to compete with other emerging economies.

At the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is attending for the first time as the G-77 chair — along with Laos PDR as the ASEAN chair.

As the host, China, has made clear, this summit should be inclusive because the health of global economies depends on the well-being of all economies, not only the rich ones. As such, Thailand can play a crucial role in linking developed and developing countries. Since taking up the chair of the G-77, Thailand has been greatly sensitized to major issues confronting the G-77 members.

China has outlined several benchmarks in Hangzhou to further promote economic growth with innovation and better governance. It claims new ideas such as a universal framework for investment and financial innovation would help increase foreign direct investment and facilitate commerce throughout the world if complicated rules and red tape were eradicated.

One area where Thailand can fit nicely is the sustainable development agenda, both in the regional and international context. The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030 have now become the focus points of the G-20. Within the region, the ASEAN Vision 2025 also contains similar elements outlined in the UNSDG’s targets. ASEAN has already endorsed Thailand as a coordinator between ASEAN and the U.N. on sustainable development goals. Further synergy and coordination would strengthen the regional and international implementations of these UNSDGs.

Later this month, ASEAN foreign ministers will hold a special session back-to-back with their informal ministerial meetings in New York to discuss the SDGs on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Indeed, it is an opportune time as this year marks the beginning for ASEAN and the U.N. of their first year in implementing the 2025 vision and the U.N. 2030.

To prepare for its role, back in June Thailand hosted an “interface meeting” with the U.N. Economic and Social Cooperation in the Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) and the ASEAN Secretariat to identify common agendas.

At the Vientiane meeting in July, ASEAN mandated Thailand to explore the development of priority areas and a road map to promote complementarities between the ASEAN vision and UNSDGs. In addition, Thailand must also explore how community building and the implementation of SDGs can reinforce members for the peoples’ benefit.

After Hangzhou, Thailand will pursue similar objectives at the 28th and 29th ASEAN summits in Vientiane this week. The notion that no one should be left behind has now become a mantra in formulating economic and social policies. With the rapid demographic growth in East Asia, Thailand has been instrumental in pushing for comprehensive action plans to cope with the ageing population in ASEAN+3 countries (Japan, China and Korea).

Souce: The China Post