Thailand and Japan co-hosted the 1st Mekong - Japan SDGs Forum - กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ

Thailand and Japan co-hosted the 1st Mekong - Japan SDGs Forum

วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 21 Dec 2021

วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 30 Nov 2022

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On 20 December 2021, Thailand and Japan co-hosted the 1st Mekong - Japan SDGs Forum under the theme “Decisive Decade: Actions and Count Down Toward 2030." More than 150 - 170 participants joined the meeting online, which included Mekong SOM leaders and representatives of public, private, academic and people’s sectors from member countries of the Mekong - Japan Cooperation, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam and Japan.

H.E. Ms. Arunrung Phothong Humphreys, Ambassador attached to the Ministry and Thailand’s Mekong SOM Leader, and H.E. Mr. Takehiro Kano, Director-General of the Department of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, co-chaired the meeting and delivered opening remarks. Both emphasised the significance of inclusive participation and cooperation of all sectors in the Mekong sub-region and Japan in driving and supporting actions of Mekong countries towards the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and overcoming current obstacles and challenges, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Forum was divided into three sessions, as follows:

(1) Session 1: Towards Partnership for Health - The speakers underscored the need to coordinate joint and inclusive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen the public health system, especially the building of healthcare personnel's capacities, utilisation of technology and promotion of the Universal Healthcare Coverage (UHC) with a view to allowing the people's broader access to public health services, all of which are the game changer in enhancing capacities and preparedness for future pandemics.

(2) Session 2: Towards Sustainable Economic Recovery - Approaches for strengthening the Mekong sub-region’s resilience in many economic sectors were addressed, including energy and human resource development, among others. The speakers discussed plans and perspectives of countries aimed for quality growth and green socio-economic development while trying to cope with and recover from the impacts of the repeated COVID-19 outbreaks. This included Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, the three core principles of which are moderation, reasonableness and risk management, which can be applied to meet the current challenging situation. Furthermore, the speakers also touched upon the importance of digitalisation as a tool to reinforce the efforts to reach the SDGs and help all sectors to cope with the New Normal environment. Particularly, the speakers discussed the rising trend of digital transformation, including digital payment and digital currencies, which can be a potential field for expanding cooperation between the Mekong sub-region and Japan in the future.

(3) Session 3: “Towards Green and Inclusive Society” - The speakers raised a number of environmental issues, such as waste, plastic waste and pollution, and also approaches and solutions, such as sustainable forest management, renewable energy, environmental education, smart cities scheme, international cooperation and development assistance, as well as the Bio – Circular - Green (BCG) Economy Model which is Thailand’s national agenda and approach to economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 pandemic.

The Mekong - Japan SDGs Forum is part of the Mekong - Japan Initiative for SDGs toward 2030 which was endorsed at the 12th Mekong - Japan Summit in 2019 in Bangkok and elevated from the Green Mekong Forum which Thailand had previously co-hosted with Japan for six times, with a view to covering all aspects of the SDGs and encouraging all sectors in society to move forward the actions towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.

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