On 28 May 2015, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, attended and delivered the opening remarks at the 71st Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the United Nations Conference Center, Bangkok under the topic “Policy issues for the Asia-Pacific region, Key challenges to inclusive and sustainable economic and social development in Asia and the Pacific.”

In his opening remarks, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha highlighted the importance of the year 2015 which consists of myriad international meetings on development and expressed Thailand’s continued commitment to support ESCAP in reducing inequality in the region. He also shared Thailand’s vision to become the country with “political stability, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability” by adopting people-centred approach for development guided by His Majesty’s Sufficiency Economy. He pointed out that, to achieve sustainable development goals, social and environmental dimension must be integrated into sustained, balanced and inclusive economic growth. Lastly, he stressed that regional connectivity and cooperation is crucial to foster country’s and world’s sustainable development.  H.E. General Anupong Paojinda, Minister of Interior and H.E. Mr. Don Pormudwinai, Deputy Foreign Minister also attended the opening ceremony.

In the afternoon, H.E. General Tanasak Patimapragorn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered the country statement, stressing the importance of the ESCAP 71st session as a platform to reflect Asia-Pacific region’s priorities and inputs for the United Nations Summit to adopt the post-2015 development agenda. He also highlighted the importance of balancing economic, social, and environmental dimensions to achieve sustainable development and to improve the livelihood of the people by adopting His Majesty’s Sufficiency Philosophy. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also reaffirmed Thailand’s development goals towards low-carbon city, efficient natural resources and water management, disaster risk reduction, securing access to finance and services, empowering agricultural sector, providing access to universal health care for all so as to bridge the inequality gap and income disparity between urban and rural area.

The session was attended by more than 400 participants including Head of States, Head of Governments such as Kiribati, Nauru, Fiji, and Tuvalu as well as high-level representatives from international organizations such as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and Under–Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

Meanwhile, on 29 May 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation and the Mae Fah Luang Foundation co-organized the high-level side event to share experiences on sustainable development guided by Sufficiency Economy Philosophy from Thailand. The Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Ms. Shamshad Akhtar also attended the event and praised His Majesty’s Sufficiency Economy as a key guideline for balanced global sustainable development. The representatives from United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Director of Mae Fah Luang Foundation in Myanmar and the Ministry of Interior also shared their perspectives and the implementation of the Philosophy from the grass root level. More than 80 participants including high-level representatives from Australia, Bangladesh, Iran, Japan, Bhutan, Lao PDR, USA and International Organizations attended the event.