PM to focus on economic recovery at US-Asean summit this week
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will join the US-Asean special summit in Washington on Thursday and Friday (May 12-13), where he will focus on regional recovery after the pandemic.
"We believe that the premier's participation will enable Asean to boost economic recovery and growth in the post-Covid-19 era," government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Sunday.
The in-person summit is also expected to focus on the post-coup crisis in Myanmar and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The regional bloc passed a five-point Asean Consensus focused on ending the violence that has engulfed Myanmar since the military coup in February last year. However, the consensus has failed to make progress, threatening Asean’s centrality in dealing with the crisis.
Meanwhile, Asean has declined to join the US and its allies in imposing sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
PM Prayut reiterated Thailand’s neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Friday, during a media briefing ahead of this week’s summit in Washington.
President Biden is expected to press Prayut and other Asean leaders over their neutral stance on the war.
Also likely to be discussed is China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea against overlapping territory claims by Asean members including Vietnam and the Philippines.
The US has helped fund Covid-relief efforts in Asean by donating more than $200 million in aid and over 91 million vaccine doses.
The summit, which was postponed from last October, will mark the 45th anniversary of US-Asean relations.