UNCTAD members draft Bangkok Action Plan

A task force of the 10th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD X) held a meeting at the Geneva-based U.N. office to draft the Bangkok Action Plan prior to the opening of the session in Bangkok next month, a senior Thai Foreign Ministry official was quoted by the Thai news agency TNA as saying on Saturday.

Krit Kraichitti, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Business Affairs, a Thai delegate in the task force, told TNA that the drafted Bangkok Action Plan would be a key guideline for shaping world trade and development policies over the next four years.

The document would be divided into three main parts, including the assessment of impacts of the globalization and trade liberalization, ways to improve world trade and investment to equally benefit all countries, and UNCTAD roles over the next four years, he disclosed.

The task force comprises representatives of the UNCTAD's 190 member states, who are gathering in Geneva to jointly draft the so-called Bangkok Action Plan.

The Bangkok Action Plan is a key document that will lead to the announcement of the Bangkok Consensus at the end of the UNCTAD X, which will be held in Bangkok between February 12 and 19, Kitti said.