‘We’re open for business’
PM to welcome back tourists at summit
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will use the Asean-US Special Summit in Washington, DC which is set to end later today, to tell the world that Thailand is ready to welcome international travellers back with open arms.
As he made his way to the United States, Gen Prayut posted on Facebook that the visit is an important opportunity to tell world leaders at the meeting that Thailand has now fully reopened to international visitors and moving towards a “Next Normal” in the postCovid world.
Thailand is ready to welcome back visitors — whether they are business, leisure travellers, or those attending meetings or seeking medical care, he posted.
He said more than 300,000 travellers had visited Thailand one week after the Test & Go entry scheme was scrapped on May 1. Many more arrivals are expected from this month until September, and at least 1 million are tipped to visit during the high season between October and November, Gen Prayut said.
Gen Prayut also said that his visit to the US is an opportunity to hold talks with the US president and other high-ranking officials on the issue of cooperation, support for growth and recovery in Asean, and Thailand’s role as the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit in November.
The trip will also help assure the US private sector that Thailand is on the road to economic recovery and is ready to rejoin the global supply chain and contribute to digital economy transformation, sustainable development and clean energy, he added.
These issues are high on Thailand’s agenda as the country is seeking to expand trade ties and investment in industries on the global stage, Gen Prayut said.
“The visit to the US is an important opportunity for Thailand to press ahead with economic recovery along with Asean and the global community. It will be Thailand’s major step toward becoming a leading country in the post-Covid period,” the prime minister said.
The Asean-US Special Summit commemorates the 45th anniversary of Asean-US Dialogue Relations.
The multilateral meeting provides an opportunity for the leaders of Asean and the US to discuss the future direction of their relations in various areas.
They include Covid-19 response and recovery, health security, climate change, sustainable development, maritime cooperation, supply chain connectivity, green infrastructure, human capital development and human security.
The leaders were set also to exchange views on pressing regional and international issues, while underlining the importance of Asean centrality and the need to promote a conducive environment for peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
Asean-US relations began in 1977, and were elevated to a strategic partnership in 2015.
Both sides have been working together to advance cooperation across all three pillars of the Asean Community, namely the Political Security Community, the Economic Community, and Socio-Cultural Community.
Gen Prayut arrived in Washington, DC at 6.55pm on Wednesday (local time). He was welcomed by US officials before heading to the St Regis, Washington, DC.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said yesterday that at the summit, Gen Prayut will urge the US to engage in a constructive role with Asean to support the region’s economic growth and recovery in the “Next Normal” period after the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 5, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Thailand was ranked fifth in the world, and first in Asia, on the Global Health Security Index last year.
The ranking reflects the country’s strong commitment to its public health measures during the pandemic, the minister said.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) should take issues related to the Greater Mekong Subregion more seriously before urging the United States to support them, experts say.
The Stimson Center held the recent webinar on the theme of “Mekong Multilateralism & the US-Asean Special Summit” to discuss topics that may arise at the two-day US-Asean Special Summit that kicked off yesterday in Washington DC.
Asean members should adopt a holistic strategic approach to Mekong issues in order to better engage and amplify the efforts of development partners such as the United States, the panellists suggested.
However, Bilahari Kausikan, a former permanent secretary at Singapore’s Foreign Ministry, predicted they would not likely be on the table this week.
He said what was needed from the US was consistent high-level attention to signal Washington recognised the strategic importance of the Mekong River.
“I think the problem is the US tends to look at the Mekong as a cluster of environmental and functional issues like water management, climate change and so on. [Instead] the US should look at the Mekong as strategically and holistically within [its] Indo-Pacific Strategy,” he said.
Washington has been paying much attention to the South China Sea recently due to China’s growing domination over the area. But Mr Kausikan said that land and rivers in the region were also important and of strategic value.
One of the problems is that there is no collective understanding of the optimal goal for the Mekong Subregion among Asean members, according to Le Dinh Tinh, director general of the Foreign Policy and Strategic Studies Institute at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
“But at least, the overall goal in the region, I think we all agree we need a peaceful, connected and sustainable Mekong subregion,” he said.
In addition to the 1995 Mekong Agreement, he said it was necessary to develop rules and principles governing activities in such subregions, even though this would be a challenge.
“It is also significant to adopt best practices and adjust them to make sure that the subregion is sustainable, equitable and works for everyone,” he said.
When Vietnam chaired Asean it tried to add the Mekong to the agenda but these efforts were stymied by the pandemic, Mr Tinh said.
Adapting to climate change is another issue where the US, China, Japan and the EU can help, he said.