Thai PM calls on joint solution to irregular migrations

NEW YORK, September 21 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has called on all parties to work together for a solution to the problem of irregular migrations. The Thai premier made the call while delivering a speech at the Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York on September 20 (local time), initiated by US President Barack Obama and organised as part of the 71st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA71) in the United Nations Headquarters during September 20-23. The Thai prime minister pointed out that it should be joint responsibility of all parties to work together with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to expedite procedures on screening and sending irregular migrants to third countries to ease burden of all relevant parties. The Thai premier noted that there are now over 65 million refugees worldwide, 21 million of whom have migrated into Europe and other regions, becoming a burden for the receiving countries. Prime Minister General Prayut acknowledged that Thailand is a country having faced the problem over the past four decades, as the Thai government has provided humanitarian aid for over 100,000 refugees fleeing violence from neighbouring countries and over three million others of irregular and labour migrants with a total budget of about 180 million US dollars annually to take care of them. The prime minister stressed that Thailand is determined to seriously solve the problem by revising and enforcing the laws and the Kingdom is working out a screening system which meets international standard to reduce the risk of the human trafficking problem. On the occasion, the Thai leader congratulated that the world community has adopted the New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants. Prior to the Summit for Refugees and Migrants, the Thai premier attended the opening ceremony of the UNGA71, presided over by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, during which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development was affirmed. (TNA)