Jakarta—The Thai delegation to the Asean summits will be headed by Sarun Charoensuwan, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs as newly elected Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has not yet take an oath and deliver a policy address to the Parliament, according to a high-level informed source.The source, who asked not to be named, said Sarun will represent Thailand at the 43rd Asean Summit and related summits. The three-day event will kick off tomorrow (September 5) with more than a dozen meetings among the Asean leaders and their dialogue partners. The source said that Sarun will participate in all the sessions including the foreign ministerial and joint coordinating council’s meetings ahead of the leaders’ meeting.He will also participate in the opening of the Asean-Indo Pacific Forum (AIPF) along with the other Asean leaders, The AIPF is the flagship event of the Asean summit, which serves a platform to exchange views and strategies to implement the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). He will also attend several Asean-plus summits with China, Japan, South Korea, the US, Canada, Australia, India and Asean Plus Three.At the Jakarta summit, twenty-one outcome documents will be released for the Asean Summit and related meetings. Last month, the outgoing Thai government approved all of the proposed documents by the chair. The main one will be the Jakarta Declaration: Asean Matters: Epicentrum of Growth, which prescribes joint commitments to promote Asean centrality, specify its growth, maintain Asean’s role in the region, and operationalize the Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.Other documents to be endorsed by the Asean leaders are related to human rights, early childhood educational care development, assistance for people with disabilities and gender equality and family development. For the Asean cooperation with dialogue partners under the AOIP guidelines, Asean will endorse joint statements with South Korea and the US.The Asean leaders will also endorse a joint statement between Asean and China on Mutually Beneficial Cooperation between AOIP and the Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang will participate in the Asean summits for the first time since being elected to the post in March.After the East Asia Summit on Thursday, Indonesia will hand over the chairmanship to Lao People’s Democratic Republic, although Vientiane won’t officially take up the reins until January.
