Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called on his counterparts in ASEAN to awaken to the sense of belonging in the ASEAN Community, or ASEAN DNA, and join hands and hearts in the common effort to move forward together towards a people-centred community that leaves on one behind.

The prime minister said that a people-centred community could only be realized through partnership and cooperation involving all sectors in ASEAN member states; public, private, civil society and, most importantly, the “heart of our Community, our people of every generation.”

In his opening speech at the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok today, he quoted lyrics from the song “The ASEAN Way” which read “We dare to dream, we care to share”, saying that it portrays, most fittingly, the journey that ASEAN has taken over the past five decades.

“Now is the time for our generation to drive forward the dreams and aspirations of ASEAN’s founding fathers over five decades ago, to build a region of peace, progress and prosperity for all ASEAN’s people and to lay down a solid foundation for future generations in the next half century.

In his media statement, Gen Prayut also informed that ASEAN has a new Secretariat Building, located in South Jakarta, to open on the ASEAN Day, 8 August 2019. He reconfirmed that ASEAN will develop a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.

He finally vowed to “strengthen ASEAN from inside out” by pushing forward cooperation under the ASEAN framework and “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.”.