Thailand needs to speed up development to meet UN sustainability goals: Srettha
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced that Thailand urgently needs to harness innovations to hasten its development. He made this declaration in his opening remarks at the five-day 80th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“At the current pace, our region will not achieve the [United Nations] SDGs [sustainable development goals] until 2062. The future is calling for us to find innovative ways to bring about sustainable development and to do so in an urgent manner. We need transformative change and digital innovation has become a vital tool for us all to achieve this change,” he said.
Apart from citing information from the UN’s Asia-Pacific progress report, the PM also took this opportunity to tout his government’s “Ignite Thailand” initiative, which was announced last month as part of the “Thailand Vision 2030” strategy.
He said this initiative aims to foster digital literacy and inclusion of vulnerable groups. The premier also raised the importance of applying digital innovation to agriculture and food security, as well as safeguarding against cybersecurity risks.
Srettha wrapped up his speech by lauding ESCAP for the opportunities and advice it provides.
“We have a wide range of interesting ideas to share with one another. The challenge is translating them into practical policies and real actions at the national and regional levels,” he said.
Also delivering an opening speech in person on Monday was Cambodian PM Hun Manet, while messages from other regional leaders like Laos PM Sonexay Siphandone, Philippines President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr and Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina were delivered through video clips.
In their speech, each leader highlighted their country’s achievements within the framework of the UN’s 17 SDGs, as well as the commission’s overall potential in helping countries achieve the goals. A common theme in the speeches was the importance of recovering from the pandemic, addressing the impacts of climate change and the intention of using innovations to bridge existing digital gaps.
Like Srettha, most of the leaders drew parallels between their own national policies and what they have done to achieve SDGs, particularly in terms of technological advancements and digital applications.
Hun Manet in particular spoke about the impact war and conflicts have had on the adoption of digital technologies.
“The issue of demining and removal of remnants of the [Khmer Rouge] war remains an obstacle to overall development, including the bridging of the digital gap and access to quality internet services,” he said, adding that Cambodia’s National Mine Action Policy was its “18th SDG”.
