September 15, 2026 – Mr. Julapun Amornvivat, Minister of Labour, announced that the Cabinet meeting held on this day approved two draft APEC Human Resource Development outcome documents, as proposed by the Ministry of Labour: the draft Joint Statement of the 8th APEC Human Resource Development Ministerial Meeting, and the draft Annex on Initiatives to Address the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Employment in the Asia-Pacific Region. The Cabinet also approved the Minister of Labour or a designated representative to jointly endorse these documents.
Mr. Julapun continued that the meeting is scheduled to be held on September 21, 2026, in Nanjing, the People’s Republic of China, under the theme “Modernizing Human Resources Development for A Stronger Asia-Pacific Community,” aimed at developing human resources to be ready for changes in the economy, society, demographics, and technology.
The key substance of the draft Joint Statement covers 3 areas: promoting full and quality employment alongside the protection of labour rights; investing in people through lifelong learning and the development of digital and AI skills; and improving the efficiency of social security systems to accommodate diverse forms of employment and an ageing society.
The draft Annex prioritises the use of AI in a human-centred manner, to create new jobs and occupations, upgrade existing forms of work, develop human-technology collaboration, improve working conditions and safety, and protect labour rights from the use of AI and algorithmic systems.
“This cooperation will enable Thailand to exchange knowledge and good practices with APEC members and apply them to workforce skills development, employment service systems, and labour protection, so that Thai people can benefit from AI and adapt to the labour market of the future with quality,” Mr. Julapun said.
————————————
Division of Public Relations
