H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, will be attending the 26th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on 17 – 18 November 2018 in Port Moresby, Independent State of Papua New Guinea. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

 

On the same occasion, H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ms. Arunee Poolkaew, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, will be participating in the 30th APEC Ministerial Meeting on 15 November 2018. 

 

Under this year’s theme “Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future”, APEC will focus on three priorities including (1) Improving connectivity, deepening regional economic integration; (2) Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth and (3) Strengthening inclusive growth through structural reform. 

 

The main activities under the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week include the 30th APEC Ministerial Meeting on 15 November 2018 and the 26th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on 17 – 18 November 2018. On 17 November, the Prime Minister will participate in the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Dialogue with other Leaders and the Informal Meeting between APEC Leaders and the Pacific Islands Countries’ Leaders, respectively. On 18 November, he will attend the Leaders’ Retreat held under the theme “Connecting for Inclusive Growth through Digital Future”, and will give his intervention on the topic of “Regional Economic Integration and APEC’s Future”. Afterwards, the Prime Minister will join other Leaders in a Working Lunch, where he will intervene on the topic of “Promoting Inclusive Growth in the Digital Age”.

 

To build on last year’s APEC meeting, Thailand has pushed forward 5 key issues including (1) promoting digital economy especially cybersecurity; (2) promoting green businesses to support the implementation of a Thailand-led APEC Strategy for Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs; (3) enhancing connectivity by placing emphasis on synergies between ACMECS, ASEAN and APEC; (4) supporting the rules-based multilateral trading system under the WTO; and (5) shaping the APEC Post-2020 Vision by suggesting that future APEC agendas should maintain balance between trade and investment, liberalisation, and inclusive growth. In addition, Thailand will share its progress in supporting the APEC agenda including initiatives that seek to enhance digital connectivity and reduce gaps in accessing high-speed internet and services. 

 

The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and the APEC Ministerial Meeting have been held for almost 30 years and have received continued support from all 21 economies. This year, Papua New Guinea is hosting the APEC meeting for the first time since joining APEC in 1993. Thailand will assume the APEC Chairmanship once again in 2022 after Chile (2019), Malaysia (2020) and New Zealand (2021).