National —
On November 7th, 2024, Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra delivered a statement at the 10th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit in the People’s Republic of China.
The meeting was chaired by Laos, with the prime ministers of Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam also in attendance.
Paetongtarn expressed appreciation to Laos for organizing the event and noted Thailand’s foundational role in ACMECS since 2003, emphasizing the economic potential of the Mekong subregion, which acts as a strategic bridge linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
She highlighted the recent progress in ACMECS, especially over the past four years, with efforts focused on seamless connectivity through transportation infrastructure, such as the East-West and Southern Economic Corridors, and emphasized the importance of human resources and technology for future growth.
Paetongtarn outlined three strategic approaches for addressing key challenges in the region, including cross-border crime, air pollution, and natural disasters. She called for enhanced cooperation under ACMECS to combat transnational crime, notably drug trafficking and cybercrime, referencing reports that Southeast Asia seized 170 tons of methamphetamine and 22 tons of ketamine in 2023.
Economic losses from cybercrime in Thailand alone exceeded 1.8 billion US dollars between March 2023 and March 2024.
On air pollution, especially PM2.5, Paetongtarn underscored the ongoing collaboration to reduce hotspot occurrences and the recent launch of the “Blue Skies” strategy with Laos and Myanmar as a framework for cross-border haze mitigation, with a goal to make ASEAN haze-free by 2030.
She also expressed sympathy for recent typhoon impacts in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, advocating for an urgent regional water management framework to prevent future disasters.
To fund these initiatives, Thailand reiterated its commitment to the ACMECS Development Fund and invited members, development partners, international organizations, and financial institutions to contribute, aiming for concrete outcomes by early 2025.
The summit concluded with the adoption of two outcome documents, including the Vientiane Declaration, signaling regional unity amid global tensions and reinforcing ACMECS’s role in driving sustainable development aligned with the 2030 Agenda.
