Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will not attend the ASEAN-related summit next week, according to an informed source.
The source said that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai will represent the Thai leader at the 42nd summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on May 10th and 11th.
Prayut, who has attended all the previous ASEAN summits, has to stay in the Thai capital due to the general election on May 14th. The prime minister is running on the United Thai Nation Party ticket.
Don, who will head the Thai delegation, will arrive in Labuan on May 8th and stay until May 11th. He will attend the ASEAN foreign minister’s meeting on May 9th and then take part in the 26th ASEAN Political Security Community Council Meeting and the 33rd ASEAN Coordination Council Meeting.
President Joko Widodo will give the opening speech at the plenary session on May 10th, which will be followed by a series of meetings with the representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, ASEAN Youth and ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
On the same day, the ASEAN leaders will have an interface with members of the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision. This will be their first meeting.
The summit will conclude on May 11th with a retreat session, which lasts about 90 minutes. According to the source, the ASEAN leaders will discuss regional and international situations impacting the grouping’s security. The Myanmar crisis, the Russia-Ukraine war, the South China Sea dispute, and the US-China rivalry are on the agenda.
