23rd AFMM, 5th AFMGM to be held in Thailand in April

BANGKOK, January 29 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand (BOT), will host this year's ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting (AFMM), the 23rd of its kind, and ASEAN Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Joint Meeting (AFMGM), the 5th of its kind, in Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North in April. Finance Ministry Spokesman Lawaron Sangsanit, who is also Director-General of the ministry's Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), told journalists of the schedules on January 28, as Thailand plays the chairmanship role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2019 under the theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”. The spokesman announced that the 23rd AFMM and the 5th AFMGM will be held in Chiang Rai during April 3-5, with the regional financial cooperation to be top of the agenda. The spokesman stated that prior to the 23rd AFMM and the 5th AFMGM, Thailand will host meetings of ASEAN task forces, comprising of senior officials of the ASEAN finance ministries and central banks, in Bangkok during February 11-16. The spokesman said financial cooperation, the top agenda of the 23rd AFMM and the 5th AFMGM, complies with Thailand's theme of the ASEAN chairmanship this year, announced by Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha aimed to drive forward the 10-member ASEAN bloc through its three main pillars on the sustainable and balanced basis with no one left behind. The three pillars of the 10-member ASEAN Community (AC) comprises of the Political and Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community. (TNA)