On 30 June 2013, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, attended the 14th ASEAN+3 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong encouraged ASEAN+3 to work closely to prosper together as a community in the context of “the rise of Asia.”  He called on the ASEAN+3 members to continue efforts in both elevating cooperation for mutual benefits and maintaining peace and stability in the region and beyond.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister also highlighted priorities in ASEAN+3 cooperation.  He reiterated the importance of regional connectivity as a key strategic objective to reinforce regional integration as well as to advance the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.  To promote partnership on connectivity, Thailand will organize the Workshop on “Enhancing Connectivity through Multi-layered frameworks: the Roles of Dialogue Partners” in Bangkok on 19 July 2013 to review and address obstacles and explore how ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners may increase their engagement and contributions in enhancing regional connectivity.  He further suggested that ASEAN+3 explore the possibilities of upgrading the existing financing mechanism, setting up a specialized financial institution to facilitate investment, and utilizing local currency bonds for infrastructure financing.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong also emphasized the need to strengthen regional resilience by continuing to develop mechanisms, especially within the regional financial architecture.  He reaffirmed Thailand’s readiness to work with all partners to enhance the effectiveness of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), building on the progress under the Asian Bond Market Initiative (AMBI) to promote local currency bonds as well as improve regulatory framework and related infrastructure.  He proposed that ASEAN+3 explore the possibilities of enhancing linkages and cooperation between capital and stock markets in the region, which could begin with the sharing of knowledge and expertise.

On food and energy security, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong emphasized the importance of ensuring sustainability of food and energy resources for future generations, and urged ASEAN+3 to develop more initiatives to help secure food reserves, develop renewable and alternative energy, and promote green growth.

The issue that deserves urgent attention and collective actions in ASEAN+3, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong added, is how to deal with the transboundary challenges of climate change and unpredictable weather conditions, in particular the severe problems of haze and floods. He called for a more integrated and effective regional weather forecasting system.  With the Plus Three Countries as partners, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister believed ASEAN could develop such a system and share satellite data and technology.  He proposed that ASEAN Plus Three work on setting up an effective and timely ASEAN weather channel.  He also suggested that workshops on effective irrigation and water management as well as joint exercises in monitoring and extinguishing forest fires and managing haze and air quality be held to enhance ASEAN’s capacity in handling natural disasters.