Thailand calls for sustainability, multilateralism at UNGA

The Kingdom of Thailand called on all nations attending the annual United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to restart the drive to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to renew faith in the multilateral system as the means to achieve them.

With the worst of the pandemic fading into the past, Thailand joined many others to issue its call to action. This year’s General Assembly was the first in three years to be held wholly in person as opposed to being a virtual meeting.

In May, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said that “years or even decades of development progress have been halted or reversed as a result of COVID-19, the climate crisis and the conflict in Ukraine.” He called on nations to use the recovery period to focus on “low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development pathways.”

Don Pramudwinai, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, reinforced those ideas in his speeches to the General Assembly and several UN committees. As host of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Thailand is advocating for wider global adoption of the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy. The Kingdom is ramping up its efforts to transition to the BCG economic model at home, and believes that nations must work together to have a significant impact on global challenges.

In his speech to the assembly, Don said that Thailand believes that the multilateral system plays a vital role in tackling new challenges, such as digital technology, the use of outer space and in advocating for an equitable global financial system.

Among the countries of Southeast Asia, Thailand has made the most progress toward achieving the SDGs. The Kingdom was ranked 44^th out of 163 countries in SDGs progress in 2021 by the independent “Sustainable Development Report.” That placed Thailand 3^rd in Asia after Japan and Republic of Korea. The Kingdom scored 74.1 out of 100 in reaching the goals.

Photo courtesy of  https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/ungastatement240965?cate=5d5bcb4e15e39c306000683c