Thailand to introduce universal healthcare scheme in FEALAC 2014

BANGKOK, June 14 (TNA) - Thailand will introduce the government's universal healthcare scheme and call for the concrete promotion of food security at the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) next year. As Thailand has been assigned to coordinate a foreign ministers’ meeting under the FEALAC 2014, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul, who is attending the 6th FEALAC on Bali Island, Indonesia, from June 13-14 told TNA on Friday that Thursday's forum discussed five issues, including food security, health insurance, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), educational cooperation and tourism, with both regions agreeing to jointly develop cooperation in the areas. Surapong acknowledged that Thailand will seriously push for the development of two topics from this year's forum, including the 30-baht per-hospital-visit health insurance system, which is successful and recognized by the United Nations, and concrete cross-continental cooperation on food security, covering the deployment of officials for the exchange of knowledge and training on the issues. The Thai deputy prime minister also had bilateral talks with Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Samuel Santos Lopez on the sidelines of the 6th FEALAC, during which he sought cooperation on energy and tourism, as up to 94 per cent of energy used in the largest Central American country is renewable energy and only 6 per cent of it is oil and Nicaragua has also successfully boosted the number of international tourist arrivals from one million to four million annually within a few years. Besides, the Thai deputy premier asked Nicaragua to resume its imports of Thai rice, while the Nicaraguan foreign minister promised to forward the request to his government. (TNA)