Thai junta endorses action plan on ASEAN Connectivity

BANGKOK, August 2 (TNA) - The Thai army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has endorsed a joint action plan between Mekong River Basin countries, including Thailand, and South Korea and Japan, concerning ASEAN connectivity. Thai Army and NCPO Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha told the public of the move during his weekly address broadcast nationwide on Friday night. General Prayuth elaborated that the NCPO agrees with joint statements issued after the Mekong-Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting, held in Seoul, South Korea's capital, earlier this week, on cooperation and the implementation of the 2014-2017 Action Plan concerning ASEAN Connectivity, as well as regional sustainability and people-oriented development. General Prayuth said apart from economic issues, the NCPO has ordered the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs to also consider ways in which all Mekong River Basin member countries will equally benefit from water resources in the Mekong River and will be protected from relevant impacts, namely the flooding and drought problems caused by the construction of dams in each upper-Mekong country. The junta chief suggested that issues regarding human rights and environment be also taken into consideration, as water is a vital source of life. Thailand and four other Mekong River Basin countries have adopted the first action plan at Seoul's meetings on July 29, in which foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and South Korea participated. The regional cooperation covers, among others, infrastructure, technology, agriculture, rural development, water resources, environmentally-friendly growth and human resource development, while also creating investment opportunities in the Mekong River Basin, most members of which are also member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (TNA)