FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Thailand's chance to boost its place in the world today

Thailand's chance to boost its place in the world today

Each year at this time, Thailand has the opportunity to display its public face for the world to see. The other 192 members of the United Nations will have the same opportunity to present their countries at their best or otherwise. This year commemorates

At the podium, leaders of the superpowers will focus on the global order and their contributions to shaping it. All will emphasise how their policies and visions have made the world better and safer, even though in reality their reports are different altogether. The UN General Assembly permits each country to tell its own story, imagined or real.
It has become customary for members of the UN Security Council to accentuate their peace-making roles, especially how they have saved the world from the ravages of war and conflicts around it. Obviously, they will turn a blind eye to their own ugly veto votes that sometimes cause yet more harm as their actions keep conflict on the ground continuing unabated.
The leaders from medium-sized powers will turn attention to developmental issues that have made the world an unequal place, where the majority of the world’s population still lives under two dollars a day. Their speeches will be completely different from those superpowers that brag about their significant contributions. Eradication of poverty, improvement of education, bridging digital divides, cooperation on climate change are their 
concerns.
The majority of UN members are developing countries. So they have different agendas and focuses. Their speeches normally dwell on how their countries have struggled to cope with domestic challenges brought about by external change. They will certainly ignore internal problems brought about by their own malfeasance and short-sightedness.
When it is time for Prayut to give the speech of his life on 29 September, it would be wise to keep in mind the country’s unique quality and character. First of all, Thailand is a free and liberal democratic country. It has been our country’s objective since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932. After 83 years, our endeavours continue. At the moment, we have a military government running the show. Prayut has to be “truthful” in assessing his government’s performance to the global stage.
There will be no need to focus on his dedication and hard work on the home fronts — nobody wants to know out there. In previous years, the Thai leaders’ UN speeches often dwelled on this aspect. Prayut must concentrate on the outcomes. Since last May’s power seizure, Thailand’s international image resembled an endless roller-coaster ride because Prayut’s teams were not level-headed and balanced in their implementation of policy announcements and vision. Lack of consistency has eroded the public confidence and caused misperception of the country’s image and policies. His most important message to the UN would be the assurance that Thailand is and will be a liberal democratic country.
Secondly, while Thailand is currently trying to clean up its house both economically and politically, it has not abandoned it international responsibilities and ambitions. That explains why Thailand has not pulled out its bid for a non-permanent seat of UN Security Council (2017-2018). It was first made in 1986, when Thailand first served in the UNSC. Over the past three decades, the world has changed and the country needs to get acquainted with new global challenges. The bid would allow Thailand to discover new friends and connect to new platforms.
In addition, the long-held notion that Thailand’s all-embracing friendliness to every country in the world would save it from harmful activities has now been blown to smithereens after the Erawan Shrine bomb last month. It was a wake-up call for Thai decision- makers to make deep soul-searching on the country’s traditional practices and responses with foreign countries near and far. From now on, Thailand has to seriously balance national interests and concerns of all major powers, different regions and ethnic communities as never before.
Internationally, the country 
has an excellent track record on international peace-keeping – 
the merit the Thais earned was 
seldom appreciated due to the 
military’s perception at home.
Promotion of gender equality is another strong area the country is promoting, both in workplaces and in peacekeeping operations. As a medium-sized country, Thailand views itself as a bridge builder for the developed and developing countries. Bangkok has also participated actively in the preparation of 17 targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  Several development forums have been initiated with African, South Asia and South Pacific countries. Thailand’s International Cooperation Agency has been providing hundreds of scholarships and training sessions to citizens of these nations.
Finally, in relation to the SDGs and Thailand’s place in the world, the country should be proud of its long history of implementing sustainable economic development policies; the Thai monarchy is a valuable stakeholder of such practice in our land. Proper discussion and assessments are needed as part of SDGs locally and internationally. The UN forum is a great place to begin this whole process. Prayut should keep this in mind whenever the SDGs are being mentioned 
and discussed. Otherwise, the 
whole narrative of SDGs, in which Thailand could easily be the world’s leading country, would be forever opaque.
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