Thai PM held a Press Conference after the 34th ASEAN Summit

Pointers for Press Conference by His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.) Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand at 34th ASEAN Summit

Dear Friends from the Media,
1. I am honoured that Thailand is the Chair of ASEAN this year and host of the Thirty-Fourth ASEAN Summit and other meetings. I am pleased to have had good discussions with ASEAN Leaders. Now allow me to speak in Thai.

1. During the Summit, ASEAN Leaders also met with the representatives of various sectors who are stakeholders in the ASEAN process, that is, the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN Youth, and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. These meetings gave us a good opportunity for our ASEAN family to move forward together to create a people-centred ASEAN Community that leaves no one behind and looks to the future. This is in line with the Thailand ASEAN Chairmanship theme of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”, which received full support from Leaders.

2. The 34thASEAN Summit began on the 22nd of June with the Plenary Session, and was followed by the Retreat Session this morning. The Leaders supported Thailand’s initiatives and undertakings to enhance sustainability for ASEAN in all dimensions.
   This will enable ASEAN to respond to changes and challenges such as the 4thIndustrial Revolution, climate change, and competition between countries outside the region. ASEAN’s work over the past five months under the Thai Chairmanship has been guided by our theme. Progress has been made in a number of areas. We have focused on enhancing sustainable security, promoting seamless ASEAN connectivity and pursuing sustainable development in order to increase ASEAN’s strategic value-added and bring about regional stability and prosperity. The intention of the ASEAN Leaders to do all of this has been reaffirmed through the adoption of the “ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability.”

3. In efforts to create a sustainable and safe region for our peoples, ASEAN agreed to focus on the issue of marine debris, which has a widespread impact on the well-being, health and hygiene of people and marine animals and resources. The Summit therefore adopted the “Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in ASEAN Region,” which demonstrates ASEAN’s commitment to addressing the problem of marine debris in a serious and sustainable manner by supporting innovation and ideas, building capacity in research and the application of scientific knowledge as well as encouraging the involvement of all stakeholders.

4. In addition, in order to respond to emergencies and disasters, ASEAN Leaders launched the Satellite Warehouse under the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN (DELSA). We have also included the ASEAN Center of Military Medicine (ACMM) as a subsidiary body under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in Annex 1 of the ASEAN Charter. Both Centres are located in Thailand.

5. The Meeting attached importance to ASEAN awareness-raising and the promotion of an ASEAN identity among the peoples of the region, which is a priority area of work in ASEAN. ASEAN Leaders adopted the “ASEAN Leaders’ Statement on the ASEAN Cultural Year 2019”. There will be activities throughout the year to celebrate this. A Network of ASEAN Associations, which is an initiative of Thailand, will also be established. ASEAN also values the participation of all stakeholders, including the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), youth and the private sector, and seeks to promote their continued engagement as a reaffirmation of the importance of a people-centred and inclusive ASEAN Community.

6. The Summit agreed with Thailand’s initiative to reinforce ASEAN’s leading role in the conduct of relations with external partners in the region. After comprehensive deliberations on this issue, ASEAN has developed “ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific,” which is significant as ASEAN now has a common approach on the issue, following on from the suggestion I made at the East Asia Summit in the Philippines in 2017 that ASEAN needed to play a role in bridging the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Therefore I wish to express my appreciation to His Excellency the President of Indonesia, who has played an important role in driving the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, which ASEAN agreed to have it anchored on such universally recognized principles as mutual trust, mutual respect, and mutual interest, and supports a rules-based approach as well as the principles contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC). ASEAN believes that cooperation under the Indo-Pacific concept should be based on inclusiveness and ASEAN centrality. It should also complement existing frameworks of cooperation at the regional and sub-regional levels and generate tangible and concrete deliverables for the benefit of the region’s peoples.

The Summit also reiterated the importance of strengthening the regional economy. We also support the conclusion of the RCEP negotiations this year, as it will help ASEAN manage change and uncertainty in the region, especially as regards the trade tension between ASEAN’s important trading partners.

1. In addition, ASEAN is pleased to have a new ASEAN Secretariat Building which will be officially inaugurated on the ASEAN Day, 8 August 2019. This new building will enable ASEAN to work in a more effective manner.

2. Finally, I wish to inform our ASEAN peoples that today, the Leaders supported the shared wish of ASEAN to develop a joint bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2034.
   In this regard, I wish to invite all ASEAN peoples to collectively support the national football associations of ASEAN Member States with a view to realising this dream together.

3. On behalf of the Royal Thai Government, I would like thank all of you for supporting Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship and the 34th ASEAN Summit. In addition, I would like to thank all agencies and the people of the Kingdom of Thailand for rendering their support, contributing to the success of this Summit. I would also like to thank the media for their interest in, and reporting about, this Summit. And in November this year, Thailand will host another ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, this time with the participation of Leaders from outside the region.

4. I wish to inform you that the ASEAN Leaders will jointly push forward cooperation under the ASEAN framework for concrete outcomes to strengthen ASEAN from the inside out. This will be a strong foundation for a stable ASEAN Community for more than 640 million people. We, the 10 ASEAN Member States and our peoples, will move forward together, “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.”