The 73rd Council Meeting and the 39th General Assembly of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union
Hon. Col. Apiwan Wiriyachai, Second Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives led the Thai Delegation to attend the 73rd Council Meeting and the 39th General Assembly of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union which were held from 10 to 12 August 2008, in Nara, Japan.
In the General Assembly, the Thai Parliamentary Delegation had an opportunity to play a vital role through the parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening relations and understanding with other APPU member countries. It aimed to ensure that Thailand has been one of the democratically developed countries with a healthy economy and a major international player in governmental and parliamentary aspects. In addition, the General Assembly also adopted the draft resolutions submitted by the Thai National Group without amendment. These shall enhance the regional cooperation on alleviating global warming, promoting alternative energies and strengthening the APPU to efficiently take actions beneficial to the region, especially cultural cooperation.
Annual 2008 Session of the Parliamentary Conference of WTO
Associated Prof. Tassna Boonthong, Vice President of the Senate led the Thai Delegation to attend the Annual 2008 Session of the Parliamentary Conference of WTO which was organized jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament from 11-12 September 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the meeting, Dr. Kalaya Sophonpanich, a Thai delegate presented a discussion paper entitled “Can International Trade Help Mitigate Climate Change?” Dr. Kalaya noted that multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization can play a vital role in mitigating climate change. The current Doha Round of trade negotiations in which one of the main goals is to considerably reduce trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, mostly meted out in rich countries, could potentially have a very positive effect on reducing the stress on the environment and our climate. Under the Doha Round, WTO members are negotiating the liberalization of environmental goods and services, to facilitate and widen the scope of market access for these (goods and services), and as a result to indirectly help mitigate climate change. She furthered to mitigate climate change, the following vital issues should be addressed: transparency in processes, public accountability and public participation. Dr. Kalaya concluded that every country need to track, monitor and protect our world by using the recommendations and guidelines contained in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which we all agreed are the best way in solving climate change problem.
Official Overseas Visits
During July-September 2008 the National Assembly of Thailand welcomed visits by:
- H.E. Mr. Satsuki Eda, President of the House of Councillors of Japan (1/7/2008)
- Hon. Ms. Bronte Moules, Minister (Charge d’ Affairs) and Permanent Representative to ESCAP (11/7/2008)
- H.E. Mr. Eric G. John, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, The United States of America (31/7/2008)
- His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of State of Kuwait (14/8/2008)
- Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary – General of ASEAN (4/9/2008)
