THAILAND will host the 14th ministerial meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) starting today to build “new momentum” for pan-Asian cooperation.

Launched in 2002 during the Thaksin Shinawatra administration, the ACD aims to bring together countries from across Asia for consultation and cooperation in various sectors including energy, food security, trade, investment, finance, tourism and public health.

During the meeting this week, Thailand as the current chair of the group will push the “ACD Vision for Asia 2030”, Sek Wannamethee, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said yesterday.

The vision statement covers four areas comprising the ACD’s goals, restructuring areas of cooperation, selecting a permanent secretariat for the ACD, and the role of the private sector and chambers of commerce, he said.

Thailand will also propose a roadmap for ACD Regional Connectivity, which would connect Asian countries in various dimensions including physical connectivity, trade and investment, energy and food security.

The Cabinet decided last year to take the chairmanship of the ACD from Saudi Arabia during 2015 and 2016 to raise Thailand’s international profile and its role in fostering cooperation among Asian countries.

The exposure would also promote tourism in Thailand, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

Of the ACD’s 34 member countries across Asia, only 10 will send ministers to the three-day meeting in Bangkok, while the other delegations will have representatives at the level of senior officials or ambassadors, the official said.

Representatives from Asian countries will depend on available personnel.

China will send Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin while Japan will have its ambassador to Thailand, Shiro Sadoshima, at the meeting. Some Asean countries will send full ministers.

The ACD set up a provisional secretariat in October 2013, but Thailand has a long-standing proposal to set up a permanent secretariat to facilitate its work and build the ACD’s institutions.

However, the proposal has not appealed to members who are worried about a burden in terms of human and financial resources, a diplomatic source said.

Sek said the proposal for a permanent secretariat would be discussed in the meeting this week but that he did not expect any resolution on the matter.

Thailand also proposed a summit of ACD leaders be held in the Kingdom later this year, but many members have not supported the idea citing their leaders’ tight schedules, the source said.