Thailand is ready to serve as a bridge linking the Group of 20's major industrialised economies and the developing economies in the Group of 77, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says.
Gen Prayut was speaking Sunday as he attended the two-day G20 summit in Hangzhou, China -- the first ever G20 summit to be hosted by the country.
The meeting, under the theme "Towards an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy", was attended by G20 leaders, a group that consists of the world's leading industrialised and emerging economies, such as the European Union, the US, Germany, Australia, Canada, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, Russia, and South Korea.
Addressing the gathering, Gen Prayut thanked the Chinese government for inviting Thailand, as the chair of the G77, to the summit.
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Thailand won the 2016 chairmanship of the G77 last September. The organisation, consisting of developing countries, was originally made up of 77 founding members. However, the group has now expanded to include a total of 134 member countries.
Gen Prayut said the summit's agenda attached importance to development and China's constructive role in building a bridge between the G20 and the G77, something the Thai government has focused on.
Gen Prayut also praised China and the US for taking the lead in addressing climate change problems by ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change, adopted December last year. The agreement is good news, particularly for developing countries, he said.
The Paris Agreement set a long-term goal to hold global average temperature rise to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C.
Gen Prayut went on to say that as the world faces an economic slowdown, as well as several challenges, all sides must cooperate more than ever without leaving anyone behind.
"Countries must join forces to build a new kind of cooperation and become the vehicle of the 21st century driving the global economy to a new path of development and creating a global partnership with no limits on cooperation," Gen Prayut said.
Interdependence among developing and developed countries is a main goal Thailand has highlighted as chair of the G77, Gen Prayut said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha attends Sunday's opening ceremony as an observer of the G20 Summit at the International Expo Center in Hangzhou. (AFP photo)
Gen Prayut stressed that a push for cooperation to stimulate global economic growth calls for each country to coordinate policies and give developing countries an opportunity, rather than keeping them on the sidelines.
Each country must strive to boost confidence in their pursuit of the world's important economic policies, establish links, keep a balance and support each other, while the governments of each country should be given room to exercise proper measures to run their own economic policies, Gen Prayut said.
Gen Prayut also stressed the importance of reforms to the economic structure "from within" through human resources development, education reform and improving workers' skills to respond to the demands of the labour market.
Science, technology and innovations are also important, said Gen Prayut, adding that it is necessary to support research and development and encourage the private sector to innovate.
He called on the G20 to support the G77 in finding each country's strengths and develop products with local resources and knowledge and create regional brands. This will help the G20 expand markets for products, which in turn will help ease the global economic slowdown, Gen Prayut said.
Citing his government's Pracharath, or people-state, partnership model, Gen Prayut said each country should support all sectors to strengthen society, and have a say in decision-making processes to reduce social injustice.
Gen Prayut also said Thailand has supported the G20's structural reform agenda, which focusses on building strength, sustainability and maintaining a balance in development, which are in line with the Thai government's 20-year national development strategy.
After the meeting, Gen Prayut was scheduled to attend a dinner hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping. After the dinner, Gen Prayut and Mr Xi were scheduled to discuss bilateral cooperation between both nations.
Deputy government spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak said the fact that Thailand was invited to the G20 summit underscores the country's constructive role as G77 chair, reflecting international confidence in Thailand's economy and politics as well as His Majesty the King's sufficiency economy principle.