YouSaid · the spoken record

Surakiart SATHIRATHAI

lines on the record: 58
first: 2002-09-24
most recent: 2004-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“For what it is and what it will become, the United Nations is our own creation made of our own commitment and goodwill. It is up to us to rise to the challenge. Only when nations are united, will we get the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“18 Reform of such a venerable institution is never easy. We have to be realistic about that. But we have faith in the far-sightedness and wisdom of United Nations Members to take a holistic view and choose the right path, even if it is the path less travelled. Thailand pledges to apply all our experiences in forging partnerships in order to play a responsible and constructive role in contributing to the United Nations reform process. We have supported the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and will look forward to its report in December, as well as to the fruitful and constructive debate by all of us thereafter. Whether the United Nations recovers from its mid-life crisis or sinks into irrelevance is up to us, the Member States.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“But if expansion is needed, what realistic criteria are necessary for the expansion to reach greater effectiveness? Does it need to be more transparent? What are the roles and relationship among its members? Concerning the General Assembly, a body represented now by almost 200 Member States, more than three times larger than at the time of the founding of the United Nations, is it too cumbersome and do we remain content with its work process? How can the Assembly be streamlined, energized, and become more focused? Those are not all the questions asked, and Thailand is not the only one asking. But all of us will have to find the answers. While we are all entitled to different views, opinions, and analyses, ultimately the decision must be made by us, the Member States of the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“How can the United Nations be made more responsive to current needs and realities, so that it devotes equal attention to the issues of security and development? What would be the best mechanism to deal adequately with issues of development and long- term global economic issues? What would be the best mechanism to deal adequately with post-conflict nation-building and reconstruction? What would be the best mechanism to ensure a greater participation of civil society, recognizing it as an important constituency for development and conflict resolution? How to ensure cooperation among the multilateral United Nations system and regional, subregional and interregional organizations, recognizing them as important building blocks for a more effective multilateralism? Security Council reform is needed. That much is not in doubt.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Those partnerships and building blocks can lay the foundation for a more effective functioning of the United Nations multilateral system — a system that needs redefining and redesigning to respond effectively to the new geosocial and political landscape of the world. Present-day realities — the emergence of building blocks, the inextricable linkage between development and security, and the need to develop human and State security on parallel tracks — clearly reflect how much the world has changed since 1945. That is why United Nations reform is not a question only of the effectiveness of any particular organ of the Organization. Nor is it merely a question of numbers or composition. It is fundamental, therefore, to ask some pertinent questions.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“However, amid those challenges, we are fortunate to see today nations building partnership with nations; nations learning to live with differences, and even turning differences and diversity into a common strength; and nations learning to achieve a higher level of tolerance, working at the economical, cultural and political levels to nurture a culture of peace and a culture of tolerance. Through building blocks like the ones Thailand has been initiating in Asia, throughout Africa, Latin America, Europe and elsewhere, and through South- South cooperation, a number of responsible nations are ready to make contributions, in their own way, to turn differences into cooperation and partnerships. Those partnerships and building blocks deal with security and development, the two defining principles of the United Nations.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“I also appreciate the Bank’s readiness to mobilize resources for the training of deminers and capacity-building for survivors so that they may function as productive members of society. We are confident that the World Bank partnership will provide States parties to the Convention with greater resources that will help to achieve the Convention’s goal. As we try to secure peace for the world; as attempts are made to shatter our world’s peace and security with terror, fear, hatred and violence; as many struggle against poverty; and as we pledge our commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, the multilateral system that we need to rely upon is facing challenges and threats to its effectiveness of unprecedented a magnitude and proportion.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“We intend to further advocate such balanced development by embracing partnership between the Government and civil society. The Human Security Network statement issued in Thailand on the eve of the 15th International AIDS Conference in Bangkok last July — which was attended by more than 25,000 people and recognized 17 HIV/AIDS as an issue of both development and human security — clearly reflects development and security as interconnected. We view the issue of landmines in the same light. They are as much a humanitarian issue as a development one. As President of the Fifth Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine-Ban Convention, I have been working with the World Bank to reflect that approach in carrying out mine action. I am grateful for the Bank’s cooperation in realizing the development dimension of the landmine issue.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The world cannot really be peaceful if we cannot be successful in our efforts to make progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. That is why Thailand believes in the enhancement of human security as a means of making the nation secure. Domestically, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security is in charge of our policy and implementation. Internationally, we are active in the Human Security Network and in other international arenas in which human security issues are paramount. Thailand has long advocated balanced development, with freedom from fear and freedom from want as the two inseparable prongs of human security. We intend to continue to do so even more intensively as Thailand prepares to assume the chairmanship of the Human Security Network in 2005- 2006.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“But above all, we cherish multilateralism as the best means to achieve both security and development worldwide. By the same token, State security and human security, which foster development, must always be two sides of the same coin. From Iraq to Saudi Arabia, from Indonesia to Russia, shocking acts of terror have been perpetrated, seemingly calculated to shake confidence and undermine hope. As civilized societies, we must come together to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever it may occur. Terrorism is a direct threat to State security, but it also undermines human security. That is why the development of human security and State security must proceed on parallel tracks. The world cannot be a secure place if its population is still suffering from poverty and deprivation.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The ACD was initiated on the basis of Thailand’s conviction as to the virtue of partnership in drawing strength from diversity and in transforming diversity from a phenomenon that tears us apart to a force that unites us. With 25 member countries — countries from every part of Asia — and still growing, the two-and-a- half-year-old ACD will become an important building block for multilateral cooperation and the United Nations multilateral system. Through such building blocks, we can learn to live with one another’s differences and to cultivate a culture of peace and tolerance in order to counteract the violence and terror in today’s world. We cherish multilateralism as the best means to secure peace around the world. We cherish multilateralism as the best means to develop prosperity around the world.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“Further to the east, the ASEAN 10 are working with its East Asian friends to create the East Asian Community, comprising the ASEAN 10, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. To the west, Thailand sees the need to connect south-east Asia’s development with its friends in South Asia. The first summit of the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) — seven countries in South-East and South Asia around the Bay of Bengal — took place in Thailand in July, agreeing on a free trade area within the group which forms an economic and development bridge between the two subregions. These building blocks and that partnership are part and parcel of the firm foundation for the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), the first pan-Asian development forum.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“In South-East Asia, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to create its three-pillared community — the ASEAN Economic Community, the ASEAN Security Community and the ASEAN Socio- Cultural Community — by the year 2020. The realization of ASEAN communities, as in other regional or subregional communities, requires bridging the development gap. It was Thailand’s initiative to take on the role of building that bridge by introducing the Economic Cooperation Strategy — known as ACMECS — and thereby laying a faster track towards sustainable development for its neighbours: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Through the creation of more jobs and the narrowing of the income gap, that strategy will serve as a building block for ASEAN’s three- pillared community.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It is Thailand’s belief that, given today’s international landscape, there is a greater need than ever to create new layers of regional and subregional building blocks to strengthen the United Nations multilateral foundation. Those building blocks are the bond that binds nations to the multilateral system. In so doing, those regional and subregional building blocks must bear the responsibility of supporting and advancing the United Nations goals on security and development: reducing poverty, combating international terrorism, fighting transnational crime, 16 promoting human dignity and human rights, and upholding the human race as a whole.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“The task ahead of us all is to make sure that all concerted efforts are made nationally, regionally and globally to advance the causes the United Nations stands for and to restore total confidence in the working of multilateralism. Multilateralism cannot thrive or sustain without foundation. The foundation of the United Nations and its multilateralism may be its 191 Member States, but what bond binds the 191 Member States to the United Nations multilateral system? The world’s strategic, political and economic landscape of the twenty-first century is certainly far different, more complex and more intertwined than that of 1945. The layers of interwoven fibre that support such a multilateral institution as the United Nations must be modified and strengthened.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“To confront those new realities and more, no challenge will be greater than making the United Nations a more effective Organization for the times. No challenge will be greater than living up to the highest ideals of the United Nations with more action and fewer words. Our United Nations locomotive is powered by the commitment and good will of its Members. It can take us as far as we want to go, but only if we all pull together. It can take us at any speed, but only if the power of commitment and good will is fully energized. For whatever it is and for whatever it will be, the United Nations is the creation of its Members. So, in demanding more of the United Nations, we must also demand more of ourselves. And in asking the United Nations to do more, we must also be ready to be committed more.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“At the outset, allow me to begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. The United Nations has long stood for the loftiest aspirations and the noblest causes of mankind. In times of strife, it is the United Nations that holds out the hope of harmony. In times of deprivation and suffering, it is the United Nations that holds out the hope of healing. After almost 60 years, however, this Organization, on which we pin so much hope, finds itself in the midst of an existential crisis. In a world ever more complex and less predictable, the United Nations has been struggling to redefine its meaning, identity and relevance for the era of globalization.”
2004-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 59 (2004)
“It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that our world of differences has a future — a future that will not entail misery, hardship and human suffering as a result of those differences. It is incumbent upon every one of us to work with United Nations institutions so as to ensure that our differences are turned into a source of strength for our future. Thailand is doing its part, and will continue to do so, for such a future.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“By placing human security at the forefront of the Government’s policies, Thailand is stressing its determination to ensure for the Thai people a society free from want and free from fear. Living in a world of differences will entail misery if we keep forging conflict out of diversity. It will entail hardship if we keep exacerbating disagreement. It will entail stagnation if we keep failing to make room for compromise. It will entail human suffering if Governments keep turning their backs on chances of partnership. And it will entail devastation if we use our differences as an excuse to always differ. But we, Members of the United Nations, live in a world of differences.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“That success is the result of combining the diverse strengths of both the grass-roots economy and the export-led business sector as engines of growth. We are confident that our economy rests on a secure and firm foundation that will lead us along the path of economic growth and sustainable development. Last year, the Thai economy registered a 5.3 per cent growth in gross domestic product, which was followed by 6.7 percent growth in the first quarter of this year. That is our best economic performance since the 1997 crisis. On 31 July, Thailand paid back all of its International Monetary Fund loans in full — two years ahead of schedule. The Government is committed to the eradication of poverty, as defined by the United Nations, by the year 2009.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The meeting will discuss five sub-themes: a knowledge-based economy; the promotion of human security; financial architecture for a world of differences; small and medium enterprises; and action on development pledges. In addition, we will focus on the issue of counter-terrorism with a view to promoting economic stability in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. The choice of those sub-themes shows that, despite the differences among APEC economies, partnerships on those issues can be forged for the benefit of the region and of the world. Last year, at the fifty-seventh session, I gave a comprehensive account of Thailand’s dual-track strategy to attain steady economic growth with social equity. Before concluding, I would like this morning to report to the Assembly on the success of our efforts to create economic and social partnership.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Thaksin Shinawatra, is the most recent partnership aimed at narrowing the economic gap between Thailand, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar, with a view to generating employment and income based on comparative advantage and mutual benefits. It will complement other bilateral and regional cooperative frameworks, and serve as a building block towards advancing ASEAN economic integration. 25 Thailand has chosen the theme, “A World of Differences: Partnership for the Future”, for the 2003 meeting of the economic leaders of APEC, scheduled to take place in Thailand in October. The convening of that APEC leaders’ meeting reflects the belief that, despite the diversity and differences that exist throughout the region, there is unlimited benefit and potential that can be tapped through effective partnership.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Within one year of its inception, the ACD had achieved considerable progress with regard to various cooperation programmes, even in the area of financial cooperation. The second ACD Ministerial Meeting in June this year adopted the Chiang Mai Declaration on Asian Bond Market Development. The Asian bond market has been heralded as the new financial architecture for the “world of differences”. Thailand continues to work for partnership based on diversity and difference so as to promote socio- economic development among nations. Given the economic disparity among our immediate neighbours, the economic cooperation strategy initiated by the Prime Minister, Mr.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“The non-traditional security threats of HIV/AIDS, SARS and narcotic drugs — “soft threats”, in the words of the Secretary-General — demonstrate once again that no matter what differences each country or region may have, international cooperation and partnership are crucial in order to combat both traditional and non-traditional challenges to human security. Guided by the principle of deriving partnership strength from diversity, Thailand has embarked on various initiatives to bridge socio-economic disparities at the regional and subregional levels with a view to enhancing peace and prosperity. The Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), which is only in its second year of existence but already comprises 22 Asian countries, representing East, West, South, North and Central Asia, is a prime example.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“As host of the Fifteenth International AIDS Conference in July 2004, we look forward to high-level representation of the world community to share the experiences, as well as to forging strong partnerships and cooperation to build a united global front to deal with this pandemic. With regard to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) — the disease that crippled many countries and affected the tourist industry so badly throughout the world this year — we found that only the prompt response and commitment of ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) partnership enabled us to keep the pandemic under control and quell the panic and fear, which were worse than the disease itself.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Furthermore, Thailand is also forging partnership at the global level by working hand in hand with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime as a partner with shared responsibility to counter drugs and crime in the global context. Just as drugs tear at the social fabric of societies, diseases such as HIV/AIDS cripple human resources across the globe. Thailand commends the convening of the high-level plenary on HIV/AIDS on 22 September. We support the ongoing efforts undertaken within the framework of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We also remain steadfast in our partnerships with neighbouring countries, particularly the Greater Mekong subregion, as well as with related United Nations agencies, to help tackle the global challenge posed by HIV/AIDS.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“This year, we made it the peak of our campaign. Our battle against the scourge of drug production and trafficking, especially methamphetamines, must be all but comprehensive. Within the permit of the law, we have mounted an integrated strategic campaign, incorporating prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, and suppression. We hope to be able to declare a total victory by the end of the year. We have forged a more effective partnership with our neighbours and beyond to overcome this global scourge once and for all. This past June, Thailand hosted a five-nation meeting comprising Thailand, China, India, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Myanmar to discuss combating transnational crimes, including the issue of drug trafficking.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Across the continent, as one of only three Asian partners for cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Thailand seeks to build bridges between Asia, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Europe. We believe 24 that not despite our differences in cultural and social values, but because of those differences, Asia and Europe will learn the art of living together, creating a world of human security. Narcotic drugs and pandemics transcend all borders and become as much of a threat to human security as terrorism. Like terrorism, decisive and resolute partnership actions at all levels are required to tackle these global problems to achieve sustainable development. The Thai Government has declared war against narcotic drugs since taking office in February 2001.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“Only two weeks ago, Thailand was proud and honoured to have hosted the Fifth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. It was the first time this Meeting has come to Asia, where land mines are a threat to the security of hundreds of millions of people. Throughout our presidency of the Convention until the first review conference in November 2004, Thailand will do its utmost to ensure much further achievements and considerable progress in the core objectives of the Convention: mine clearance, victim assistance, stockpile destruction and universal acceptance of the Convention.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“As freedom from fear and freedom from want are the two major components of human security, it is clear that human security cannot be achieved simply because a country wants to do it all alone. Rather, human security is achieved because all countries decide to do it all together. It is achieved because countries are willing to forge a partnership out of their differences to build strength for human security. That is why Thailand considers its membership of the Human Security Network an important partnership strength, complementary to the core values of the United Nations for the promotion of peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“All sides must seize the opportunity to embark on the road towards a just and comprehensive peace so that the people of Israel and the people of Palestine can at last live in peace, security and harmony. Terrorism spares no one, strong or weak, rich or poor. To succeed against terrorism, there is no other way but to be united. The Government of Thailand has worked very closely with the international community to rid the world of this scourge. Domestic legislation has been amended in order to enable Thailand to cope with terrorist activities and to suppress the financing of terrorism more effectively. We take no second chances in our fight against international terrorism.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“For its part, Thailand remains firmly committed to supporting United Nations reconstruction and peace-building efforts, as we have done in the past in Timor-Leste and Afghanistan. Thailand has already contributed $250,000 to Iraq through the International Committee of the Red Cross and is committed to providing another $500,000 for dried halal food. Military construction engineers and medical personnel are also being dispatched to Iraq to provide further humanitarian assistance. We hope that peace can eventually reign in the region. No one deserves peace, stability and a prosperous future more than the peoples of the Middle East. Far too long have the people of that region suffered from violence, acts of terror and despair. We call upon the international community to come together in addressing this problem.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“They must be a source of our combined strength to enhance partnership and multilateralism. We believe that the promotion of true partnership and human security will help the United Nations mission in fulfilling its noble goals. From Timor-Leste to Sierra Leone and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international community can be proud of forging partnership in peacekeeping operations under the framework of the United Nations. Thailand is proud to be one of the 89 countries participating in United Nations peacekeeping operations and wishes to reiterate its commitment to continuing this partnership wherever and whenever needed through its participation in the United Nations standby arrangements system.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“As the foremost multilateral institution, the United Nations needs to carry out its mission in the context of these realities. The Secretary-General has expounded his far-sighted initiative for the proposed reforms of the institutions and the establishment of a high-level panel of eminent personalities. Thailand lends its support to the Secretary-General’s noble endeavour and hopes that, during the next session, he will come up with a proposal that will take us on the right path. Many different views, agreements and disagreements have been expressed in this Hall in this general debate. This illustrates that the international community must learn to live with and be tolerant of differences. We may differ in culture, religion and values, but our differences and diversities must not become the sources of hostility.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“I also wish to take this opportunity to commend his predecessor, Mr. Jan Kavan, whose tireless efforts have steered the United Nations along a constructive path during a year of difficult challenges. This session meets at a most critical juncture or, as the Secretary-General put it in his address: “We have come to a fork in the road” (A/58/PV.7). This road was meant to build a multilateral system to ensure a better world for the human race. It is at this critical juncture that the threats and challenges to multilateralism of the past 12 months have underscored, more than ever, that in order to collectively confront these threats and challenges to global peace, security and prosperity, the 23 world cannot do without multilateralism. But, as echoed by many from this rostrum, the big question is: how?”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“At the outset, I would like to join the international community in paying tribute to the late Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, all United Nations personnel who lost their lives and those wounded by the terrorist attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. We strongly condemn that cowardly terrorist attack and reaffirm our commitment to supporting the United Nations in paving the way for the stability, security and sovereignty of Iraq. On behalf of the Government and people of Thailand, I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Julian Hunte of Saint Lucia upon his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty- eighth session. I am confident that, under his wise and exemplary leadership, this session, held at such a difficult time, will lead to a fruitful conclusion.”
2003-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 58 (2003)
“We have faith that, ultimately, through this multilateral institution we shall build the world best suited for us and our children to live peacefully and harmoniously.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“It remains the tasks and duties of this institution and its Member States to continue performing to achieve the Charter objectives. Peace, however, cannot be enforced, but must be cultivated through tolerance and respect for each other. Prosperity, on the other hand, cannot be obtained without creating opportunities from the diverse strengths of each other. Those tasks and duties, therefore, do not merely involve the compliance by each Member State with the United Nations multilateral mechanism; they also include our forging cooperation and partnership at all levels among all stakeholders. For its part, Thailand remains firmly committed to achieving global peace and prosperity by working with other States regionally and universally within the United Nations framework.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“They include the provision of health care for all, a three-year debt suspension for farmers, the establishment of microcredit facilities, such as the People's Bank, for small entrepreneurs, and the launching of a village and urban revolving fund to provide financial support for local initiatives. In enhancing human potential and innovation, 12 years of free education for all are guaranteed by our Constitution. This goes along well with the recent recommendation by the G8 Education Task Force on education in developing countries. As a result of lessons learned from past history, the Charter of the United Nations prescribes the multilateral structure of this institution as the best means to maintain international peace and security as well as to advance social and economic development and prosperity.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“This balanced development strategy has been inspired by His Majesty the King of Thailand's philosophy of sufficiency economy'. The main principle of this approach to development is adherence to a middle path at the level of the individual, families and communities. This involves strengthening the grass-roots economy to build its immunity against the adverse impact of global volatility, as well as to enhance its ability to benefit from the multilateral trading system. Thailand places people at the forefront of its development efforts. Their livelihood must entail human development and community participation. This Government is making progress in its programmes and 21 measures to improve the quality of life of the Thai people.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“After the success of its inaugural ministerial meeting in Cha-Am, Thailand, in June, Thailand will be host once more to the ACD meeting next year to move our cooperation forward. International and regional partnerships, as well as commitments to sustainable development, are not enough. They must be reinforced by partnerships and policies at the national level. The goals and methods contained in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation are being pursued as part of our development strategy. The present Thai Government is pursuing a development strategy of enhancing international competitiveness and domestic productivity through mobilizing both domestic and external sources of growth for balanced and sustainable development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Launched in June this year, with its original members ranging from the West to the North-East of the Asian continent and with its core principles of positive thinking, ACD is envisaged as an evolving, informal, non- institutionalized, open, inclusive and incremental process. ACD's strength is to build upon multiple layers of strategic partnerships in practical areas of cooperation, such as the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, transportation linkages, agriculture and poverty eradication. We hope that ACD will help enhance Asia's economic competitiveness, open up business opportunities and make Asia a stronger partner for both our developed and developing partners.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“From East to West from Viet Nam, Laos and Thailand to Myanmar and India and from North to South from southern China, Myanmar and Laos to Thailand these road linkages are now the new lifelines for the future prosperity of the region. They will bring about access to markets, capital and knowledge for sustainable development. Based on the same principle of creating opportunities in the region for economic progress, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took the initiative, with the support and participation of 18 Asian nations, to turn Asia's rich diversity into collective strength by creating synergy from an Asia-wide partnership known as the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“In this aspect, ITD can serve as a useful linkage between UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme for capacity-building in trade negotiation. Thailand urges Member States to consider the best use of this Thailand-UNCTAD Institute. As an item on the world agenda, poverty eradication can never succeed unless there are genuine efforts at the neighbour, regional and global levels. The Mekong subregion is another example of self-help and partnership among developing countries. The road map for opportunities to advance economic integration in that subregion is now taking shape. The commercial routes the routes of economic opportunities providing transportation linkages are being established with the partnership of donor countries and the Asian Development Bank.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“As a result of the tenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), held in Thailand in 2000, the International Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) has been established in Bangkok. ITD is a Thailand-UNCTAD partnership to enhance the productive capacity and trade-negotiating skills of developing countries as they prepare for the new round of global trade negotiations. Capacity-building is crucial if developing countries are to participate effectively in defending and advancing their interests both in bilateral and multilateral free-trade arrangements, where, increasingly, non-tariff barriers are often found in the guise of environmental measures.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“The Summit underscored a range of principles, such as self- help and common but differentiated responsibilities, to make sustainable development a reality for mankind. Enhanced coordination and coherence amongst 20 Governments, international organizations and other stakeholders are crucial to providing the necessary synergies in achieving our common goals. The principle of partnership as enunciated at Monterrey and echoed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development is being implemented. Thailand is proud to be cited as one of the concrete examples of countries that have succeeded in their coordination and partnership efforts in capacity- building.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Greater market access for developing countries' exports forms part and parcel of making the Doha round a truly development round. The G8's decision to resist protectionist pressure is a positive step forward. Equally important is the role of foreign direct investment, which requires rechannelling in order not only to meet the development goals of the host country, but also to promote investors' corporate accountability and social responsibility. The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg was, indeed, a historic event. Thailand gladly welcomes the adoption of the Political Declaration and the Plan of Implementation, particularly their emphasis on poverty reduction, which binds the three pillars of sustainable development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Since their adoption, several events under the United Nations framework have taken place to ensure sustainable development. Our children must inherit the world in at least no worse a shape than it is in today, if not a better and more livable one. From Brussels to Doha and Monterrey to Johannesburg, the resolve and commitment of the international community to advance towards achieving the millennium development goals for sustainable development have been clearly mobilized. The Monterrey consensus has provided a road map for fostering more effective partnership and greater policy coherence amongst Governments and financial and trade institutions. The international trade and financial environment must be developed to better serve sustainable development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Thailand has forged partnerships with its neighbouring countries, particularly the greater Mekong subregion, as well as a partnership with related United Nations agencies and with the members of the Human Security Network to tackle this global epidemic. At the XV International Conference on AIDS, to be hosted by Thailand in 2004, we hope to share our experiences in addressing the multifaceted aspects of HIV/AIDS, namely, prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as research and development. Even if the war against poverty is Thailand's major priority, the eradication of poverty is not any country's exclusive agenda. Rather, it is an agenda for all mankind. The United Nations millennium development goals have rightly placed the interests and welfare of the people at the core of socio-economic development.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)
“Since taking up office early last year, the current Thai Government has waged war against drugs and poverty with the resolute determination to win. We are not doing it alone. Our partnerships to tackle the global threat of drugs partnerships formed within bilateral, regional and international cooperative frameworks, such as the United Nations International Drug Control Programme have been fruitful. An initiative of Thailand, the quadrilateral cooperation among China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to prevent and suppress the production and trafficking of drugs is making progress, particularly in combating the spread of methamphetamines. The leaders of our four countries will meet at an appropriate time to provide much- needed political impetus at the highest level. The issue of HIV/AIDS is another major transnational threat to human security.”
2002-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 57 (2002)