The window to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is narrowing and regional progress must speed up. This was the clear message set forth as government officials, development experts, business leaders, civil society representatives and youth gathered today for the opening of the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) in Bangkok. 

<p dir="ltr">Far from costing governments’ and companies’ money to meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a major<a href="http://report.businesscommission.org/report"> report</a> by the Business and Sustainable Development Commission (BSDC), an alliance of business leaders, economists, trade unionists and civil society actors, details how businesses and governments can actually benefit. Asian businesses stand to obtain five trillion dollars in business opportunities from countries meeting the new ‘Global Goals’.</p>

<p>On his visit to Thailand during the 60th Anniversary year of Thai-New Zealand diplomatic relations, the Right Honorable Jim Bolger, Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1990 to 1997, granted the following interview to <em>Prachatai</em>, facilitated by the Project for a Social Democracy. The interview covers development in Khon Kaen, Thai-New Zealand relations, the AEC and aid, cultural rights promotion, the TPP, corruption, the state of Thai politics, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the Deep South.</p> <p></p>