The prime minister admitted today that she regrets that her performance at the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit in Qatar has been criticised.
Despite the criticism, Paetongtarn Shinawatra said “I have a term to finish (as prime minister), so I have to move on and work. I feel sad about the criticism, but I cannot stop working.”
Paetongtarn attended the ACD gathering in Doha last week, her first international summit, where she also had a bilateral meeting with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian.
During the meeting, she appeared to focus on reading her statement from her iPad, while the Iranian president looked on. Her statement was in English, while Pezeshkian responded in Farsi (Persian), translated by an interpreter.
Critics suggested that she should have done her homework instead of relying on her iPad. Furthermore, she should have used an interpreter, as is customary and a frequent practice in international fora.
The Thai leader, who assumed office last month, was speaking today after delivering the opening speech at the “ASEAN Economic Outlook 2025: The Rise of ASEAN, A Renewing Opportunity” event at a Bangkok hotel.
She responded, when reporters noted that she did not use her iPad as she had in Doha, “This event is different from the Doha summit, because I spoke in English there. For the Doha meeting, there were some legal terms and information about international movements.”
She admitted that there were some words she has only learned since becoming prime minister.
