Prayut calls for increased cooperation with Europe
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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has called for increased cooperation between Asia and Europe so that their partnership can be expanded and more linkages created.
Speaking during the summit of Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Milan on Thursday, Prayut said that continental links required strong political will, international commitment and expertise.
The prime minister proposed three strategies for cooperation – expansion of the partnership, risk management, and more free-trade agreements.
The two-day Asem, which concluded yesterday, is an informal dialogue and cooperation involving the 28 European Union member states, two other European countries, the European Union, and 21 Asian countries and the Asean Secretariat.
It is the first international conference for General Prayut as prime minister since he took power in the May 22 coup, which toppled an elected government.
He faced a protest by a group of exiled Thai activists, but was welcomed by a separate group of expatriate Thais.
There has been no report of on how leaders from European countries reacted to Prayut’s appearance in Milan. The EU strongly criticised the coup and “froze” cooperation in various sectors with Thailand.
Relations between Thailand and EU have normalised somewhat, but the latter stopped negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Thailand and demanded the Kingdom restore democracy soon.
Prayut spent time in bilateral meetings with Asian leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
He also met Thai officials, Thai business communities in Europe.
The leaders mostly expressed their understanding of Thailand’s political developments, and Prayut thanked them for their approval of his military-dominated government.
Prayut urged China to import more farm products, such as rice and rubber, from Thailand.
He asked Japan to join Thailand and invest in the Dawei project in Myanmar while he invited Prime Minister Lee to visit Thailand and told Hun Sen that he would visit Cambodia by the end of this month.
At home, the government’s deputy spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd dismissed the protests against Prayut, which was covered by international media organisations and discussed on social media.
He said some protesters displayed racism by wielding an anti-Prayut poster.
PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana believed that exiled academic and activist Junya Yimprasert, who was in Milan, exploited foreigners who had protested by creating a misunderstanding.
However, Junya said her group had engaged with the organiser of the demonstration at the beginning of the protest. The protest was an integral part of a big demonstration in Milan, she said.
It was staged in the context of pro-democracy and a call for justice for Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi, who was killed during the bloody red-shirt riots in 2010.
