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Press Statement
Outcome of the First Thailand - Pacific Island Countries Forum
9 August 2014, Bangkok, Thailand
1.The First Thailand - Pacific Island Countries Forum is the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and was held in Bangkok between 9 – 10 August 2014. The Forum is the first of its kind, which is launched in the 10th year of joining the Pacific Islands Forum of Thailand as a dialogue partner, with the aim to start the new chapter of closer development cooperation as well as economic partnership between Thailand and the Pacific Island Countries.
At the invitation of Thailand, High-Level Delegations from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu attended the Forum. Among participants were President of the Republic of Nauru, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Tonga, and Delegations of ministerial level from Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
In addition, High-Level representatives of international and regional organizations including FAO, WHO, ESCAP, PIF, as well as representatives from Australian and New Zealand took part in this meaningful Forum.
2.The Forum is seen to have served as a conducive arena for participants to exchange views and share best practices with regard to development cooperation, as well as the opportunity to review progress and scopes of the existing cooperation in various fields between Thailand and her partners in the Pacific.
3.Recognizing the increase and diversified level of contact between Thailand and the Pacific, the Forum is welcomed by participants as a profound consultative mechanism to strengthen development partnership. In particular, participants emphasized the need to deepen and broaden ties in all dimensions and agreed to put forth the Forum regularly on a regular basis for more concrete outcomes.
4.Participants noted with satisfaction Thailand’s creative engagement and past achievements in the Pacific. They commended Thailand’s contribution in the ongoing technical assistance in the region, which focuses in the four core areas of mutual interests including public health, sufficiency economy, global warming, marine protection, and food security.
5.All sides took note of Thailand’s proposal to diversify the scope of cooperation. In this connection, five new priority areas have been identified. The five areas are eco-tourism, rural areas development and infrastructure, ICT, environment conservation and management, and alternative energy.
6.The Thai side stressed the readiness to expand cooperation projects in the Pacific region by providing capacity-building programmes, training courses, study visits, dispatch of experts, and scholarships. Possible projects that can be implemented if requested include the development of rural roads, the set-up of community ICT centres, the management of community conservation areas, and the usage of local resources for alternative energy. The sides agreed to consult on the feasibility of foreseeable projects in due course.
7.To facilitate long-term development and sustainable growth, Thailand expressed the wish to draft a Thailand-Pacific Action Plan in order to set the future direction for a comprehensive partnership between Thailand and the Pacific. The realization of the Plan is set to be the endeavour of the next Forum in 2015.
8.In addition, participants exchanged views on current development lag and limitations. They emphasized the importance of the South-South Cooperation framework and the United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States and voiced hope for increase engagement from global partners to advance sustainable development among developing countries.
9.Thailand appreciated the fruitful discussion and expressed deep gratitude for continuing trust from all sides. In this regard, Thailand reiterated the determination to continue playing an active role in assisting the Pacific to promote the longstanding partnership between Thailand and the Pacific Island Countries.
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South Pacific Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
August 2014