ASEAN senior economic officials set to meet in Bangkok July 14-18

BANGKOK, July 8 (TNA) - Senior economic officials from member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will gather in Bangkok next week for the Third Meeting of the Senior Economic Officials for the Fiftieth ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting (SEOM 3/50). Auramon Supthaweethum, Director General of the Department of Trade Negotiations, under the Ministry of Commerce, told journalists on Monday that playing the role of the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019, Thailand will host the SEOM 3/50 in the capital during July 14-18. Auramon stated that at the upcoming regional gathering, the ASEAN senior economic officials will review progress of the economic agenda of the 10-member bloc in order to be reported to the 15th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting in September and to the next ASEAN Summit in November 2019. Auramon said the ASEAN economic agenda includes priority economic deliverables, a proactive move towards the reform of the Geneva-based World Trade Organization (WTO) and preparations for the participating senior officials' meetings with representatives from the 10-member bloc's nine dialogue partners and such regional and international organizations as the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN), the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) and the Enhanced ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the European Union (ARISE Plus). According to the senior Thai officials, priority economic deliverables covers preparatory plans by the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) to cope with and keep pace with regional and changing global trends, like the advanced digital sector, human resource development in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the sustainable development in all dimensions in the region, as well as a review whether the regional plans would meet targets set in the AEC Blueprint 2025. The senior Thai official revealed that senior ASEAN officials are also scheduled to hold talks with their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand and Russia. Based on official statistics, AEC is now Thailand's largest trading partners, with the Thai Kingdom's trade with other ASEAN member countries reaching about 113.93 billion US dollars in 2018, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase, and the Thai Kingdom gaining a trade surplus of about 22.94 billion US dollars. Thailand's exports to the AEC now account for about 27 per cent of the country's total export yearly. (TNA)