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The 22nd Meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between Thailand and the Lao PDR

On 3 – 4 November 2021, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), co-chaired the 22nd Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between Thailand and Lao PDR in Bangkok.

 

Under the theme “Towards a Resilient and Sustainable Recovery Together”, Thailand and the Lao PDR discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and reinvigorate their economies. Both sides expressed their determination to forge even closer cooperation at both bilateral and multilateral levels to achieve the “Strategic Partnership for Growth and Sustainable Development” between Thailand and the Lao PDR with a view to bring about tangible benefits for the peoples of the two countries, especially in the context of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was conducted in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding. Summary of key outcomes are as follows:

 

  1. Closer political-security cooperation to promote common security

 

Both sides attached high importance to strengthening cooperation in maintaining peace and security along the border areas. Both sides agreed to step up patrol along the border to prevent illegal border crossings, which is one of the main causes for the spread of COVID-19 in both countries. Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on prevention and suppression of narcotic drugs as well as cooperation on anti – human trafficking.

 

They also agreed to promote closer cooperation in labour issues. The Thai side recognised the important contribution of Lao migrant workers to the Thai economy and reaffirmed that the Thai authorities would continue to take good care of them. Both sides agreed that the labour authorities of both countries would closely consult to prepare for the resumption of importation of Lao migrant workers into Thailand through a legal channel when the situation permits.

 

  1. Closer economic cooperation to support resilient and sustainable recovery of both countries

 

– Trade: Both sides expressed their commitment to further promoting bilateral trade cooperation, especially cross-border trade. Both sides agreed to maintain the bilateral trade target of USD 11 billion, extending the timeframe of the said target to 2025. They also agreed to expedite their consideration to upgrade new border points of entry and to resume the border points of entry that have been temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with appropriate public health measures, in order to better facilitate trade and investment as well as to allow people on both sides of the border to resume their ways of life.

– Investment: Both sides reaffirmed the importance of the promotion and facilitation of investment, as well as protection of investors from both sides. Both sides agreed to promote closer cooperation in cross-border supply chain connectivity, logistics development and linkages of banking systems in order to facilitate cross-border transactions.

– Seamless connectivity: Both sides agreed to expedite the development of infrastructure projects and harmonisation of standards and regulations to promote greater connectivity and cross-border transportation in the sub-region. These include, among others, expediting the construction of the 5th Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Buengkan – Bolikhamxay) and the 6th Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (Ubon Ratchathani – Salavan), as well as opening of the Common Control Area (CCA) at mutually agreed international points of entry. Both sides also agreed to the holding of discussions between Thailand, the Lao PDR and China on the connection of rail systems among the three countries, which will be beneficial for all sides.

– Facilitation of cross-border movements of peoples : Both sides supported the concerned authorities of both countries to establish a joint working group to consider the readiness to facilitate cross-border trade and mobility of people between both countries and to determine relevant measures towards this end. The first phase may be in a form of one-day trip between Nong Khai and Udon Thani Provinces of Thailand and Vientiane of the Lao PDR.

– Other areas of cooperation: Both sides agreed to promote cooperation in other areas such as digital economy, Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model, energy and sustainable management of the Mekong River.

 

  1. Closer cooperation for stronger people-to-people partnerships

 

– Public health: Both sides attached high importance to the promotion of public health cooperation and agreed to strengthen cooperation between local hospitals on both sides of the border in order to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic and to be prepared for other possible contagious and emerging diseases in border areas. On this occasion, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Lao PDR, presided over a ceremony to symbolically hand over the (1) Phone Hong Hospital Centre for Drug Rehabilitation and Recovery and Building for Preliminary Treatment of Emergency Patients in Vientiane District, and (2) medical supplies for the Children’s Hospital in Vientiane.

– Development cooperation: Both sides agreed to work closely to promote development cooperation, especially in education, agriculture and health sectors, through the implementation of the Thailand – Lao PDR Development Cooperation’s Three-Year Programme (2020-2022).

– Education and human resource development and people-to-people relations : Both sides agreed to increase cooperation in education and human resource development. The Thai side would provide scholarships for Lao students in celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries as well as training courses for Lao officials. Both sides also agreed to closely cooperate to promote good understanding and closer friendship at the people-to-people level.

 

  1. Sub-regional and regional cooperation

 

The Thai side expressed full support for the Lao PDR as the host of the 10th Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Summit in 2022. Both sides agreed to coordinate closely to strengthen ASEAN, support ASEAN Community building, and maintain ASEAN centrality.

 

Both sides were pleased with the outcomes of the meeting, which will bring about tangible benefits for the peoples of Thailand and the Lao PDR and lay a solid foundation for closer relations between the two countries. The Lao PDR will host the 23rd Joint Commission meeting between Thailand and the Lao PDR at a time to be mutually determined.

 

 

 

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Singapore

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APPEAL FOR NEXT-OF-KIN – MR TEO CHIN SENG

The Police are appealing for the next-of-kin of 69-year-old Mr Teo Chin Seng to come forward.

Mr Teo, a former resident of Blk 124 Kim Tian Place, passed away on 22 October 2021 at Singapore General Hospital.

Anyone with information is requested to call the Police hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

 

 

Source: Singapore Police Force

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Myanmar teacher-turned-activist slain amid junta-led violence in Sagaing region

When May Hnin Aye, a middle-school teacher and mother of a one-year-old son, joined a movement to protest the junta that took over Myanmar last February, she lost her job and source of income and was forced to flee her home in Homalin, a town in restive Sagaing region with several military bases.

She moved in with her parents in the Kawya area to the north and found work as an online vendor. As she worked peacefully to pressure the military to give up power, May Hnin Aye was still able to provide financial support for her family and also helped a former student in need—an example, a former colleague said, of her generosity and resourcefulness.

But personal business brought her back temporarily to Homalin last month, and on Oct. 24, as she and her husband were sitting on their veranda, three men dressed in civilian clothes got out of a white car and started shooting.

The men chased the couple as they ran into the house. Bullets struck May Hnin Aye’s arm, thigh, and chest, killing her, said Kyaw Win Sein, her brother-in-law and a protest leader. No one else was hurt.

May Hnin Aye was one of more than 200,000 educators across Myanmar who walked off their jobs to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) after the military wrested control of the country from its democratically elected government in a Feb. 1 coup. Doctors, nurses, engineers, and bankers have also joined the movement, featuring work stoppages aimed at forcing the junta to reverse course.

During the past few months, the military regime has been targeting CDM members in a violent crackdown on striking workers and protesters. The junta has pressured some teachers and others to return to work, though many continue to take part in anti-government protests.

Friends and relatives believe that May Hnin Aye was targeted not for her involvement with CDM, but rather as part of a politically motivated act of vengeance due to her association with Kyaw Win Sein, a well-known student activist wanted by the military junta as a suspect in the killings of pro-military militia members.

On the morning of the May Hnin Aye’s death, Maung Mawt, a suspected military informant identified by locals as a leader of the Pyu Saw Htee group in Homalin township, was shot dead.

Pyu Saw Htee is a group reportedly formed with support from the military to counter the anti-regime resistance movement in Myanmar’s Sagaing region and elsewhere.

“We believe it was a plot by a Pyu Saw Htee faction and the military because they acted so boldly and calmly,” said Kyaw Win Sein, a former chairman of the Mandalay University Student Union, a group that has produced several protest participants.

Kyaw Win Sein denied that he had any involvement in the killings of the Pyu Saw Htee members.

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Myanmar teacher May Hnin Aye in an undated photo. Credit: May Hnin Aye/Facebook

Her death is a ‘huge loss’

The shooting of May Hnin Aye wasn’t the first act of violence against the family. On Oct. 18, junta forces burned down his family’s convenience shop in Homalin Market, Kyaw Win Sein said.

Homalin police say they are investigating May Hnin Aye’s murder. But in the two weeks since, no one has been arrested for the crime.

“The whole town knows who killed her,” Kyaw Win Sein said. One of the attackers was plump, had long hair, and appeared to be a town local, he said.

“Currently, there is no justice,” he said. “When this revolution is over, we will file charges against these perpetrators.”

May Hnin Aye had graduated from Monywa University and worked as a middle-school teacher at a government-run school in Parhok village, which borders the Sagaing region and neighboring Kachin state.

A former colleague, who declined to be named for safety reasons, said her death was a “huge loss” for the community.

“May Hnin Aye was always active and could take the lead in all activities,” the colleague said. “She had provided as much support as possible to the poor students in school. She also motivated others to give support to the needy.”

“I feel so sorry that this killing happened at such a time,” the source added. “It should not happen again. Our CDM heroes, our teachers, have already given up their careers. They shouldn’t be giving up their lives like this.”

At least three schoolteachers participating in the CDM have been killed to date and more than 100 arrested, according to the Bago Township Basic Education Teachers Union.

At her parents’ request, May Hnin Aye was buried in her home village of Kawya.

Nine months after the military coup, junta forces have killed 1,242 civilians and arrested at least 7,038, according to the Bangkok-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners — mostly during crackdowns on anti-junta protests.

Reported by RFA’s Myanmar Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

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Myanmar teacher May Hnin Aye (C), her husband, and their son in an undated photo. Credit: May Hnin Aye/Facebook
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Iranian Soldier Killed After Being Shot On Iran-Iraq Border

TEHRAN– One Iranian soldier was killed, in Iran’s north-western West Azerbaijan province, during a border patrol, a semi-official website reported yesterday.

 

Conscript serviceman, Reza Hedayati, was hit by a bullet fire on Friday morning, around Mount Bolfat, an area “used as a transit point by terrorists,” Jame Jam Online, which is affiliated with state TV, wrote.

 

Hedayati was transferred to a medical centre, but died of severe injuries, the outlet added.

 

Clashes between Iranian security forces and unidentified gunmen, have been frequent for years, in Iran’s western border areas.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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Indian Capital On Alert As Zika Virus Cases Rise In Neighbouring Uttar Pradesh

NEW DELHI– Authorities in the Indian capital region yesterday said, they were on alert in wake of a spike in Zika virus cases, in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh.

 

Yesterday, 13 new cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur district, which took the case tally to 79 in the state, during the past two weeks.

 

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, yesterday said, his government was alert and watchful of the developments.

 

“Our system is on alert,” Sisodia said. “If any case is reported, we will tackle it.”

 

Uttar Pradesh shares a border with Delhi and thousands of people commute to and back from the capital region.

 

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh deputed municipal corporation teams to the affected areas, to tackle the situation. The teams are carrying out inspections and taking required measures, like fogging, to destroy mosquito breeding spots.

 

All government hospitals in the state have also been put on high alert , and surveillance has been intensified, to control and identify the cases of Zika virus infection.

 

“Meanwhile, arrangements have been made in all hospitals for the treatment of virus-infected people,” a health official said. “Surveillance in hospitals has been improved and patients are being monitored strictly.”

 

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus, which was first identified in 1947. The virus was not considered a major health threat until a major outbreak in Brazil in 2015 revealed that, it can lead to severe birth defects, when pregnant women are infected.

 

In India, the first outbreak of Zika virus was reported in 2017.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

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6.2-Magnitude Quake Hits Eastern Indonesia, No Casualty Reported

JAKARTA– A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off North Sulawesi province, in the eastern part of Indonesia, yesterday, but no preliminary report on damages or casualty was issued, an agency and a disaster official said.

 

The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency, did not issue any tsunami warning, as the quake did not potentially trigger giant waves.

 

The quake rocked at 9:37 p.m. Jakarta time (1437 GMT), with the epicentre at 71 km south-east of Bolaang Mongondow district, and at a depth of 20 km under the seabed, the agency reported.

 

The Provincial Disaster Management Agency’s head, Joi Oroh, said that, there were no preliminary reports on damages or people killed by the earthquake.

 

In the two hardest-hit areas, Bolaang Mongondow Timur district and Kotamobgu town, the official said that, he had not received any report on damage or casualty after the quake.

 

Indonesia, a vast archipelagic nation, is frequently stricken by earthquakes, as it lies on the Pacific ring of fire.

 

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK