SINGAPORE – Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday (Nov 13) vows to push for connectivity to strengthen business and investments when Thailand takes over as Asean’s chairman next year.

“It is a great honour for Thailand to assume the chairmanship of Asean in 2019 after Singapore,” he said in Thai on the second and final day of the Asean Business and Investment Summit (Abis).

“I give you my word that Thailand will continue to push for connectivity among Asean members in both public and private sectors in order to strengthen businesses and investments in Asean, making Asean an outstanding destination for trade and investment for the global business community,” he added.

The two-day conference organised annually by the Asean Business Advisory Council is being held on the sidelines of the main Asean Summit, which kicked off today (Nov 13).

Thailand will be taking over from Singapore as Asean’s chair next year. The chairmanship is rotated annually among all 10 members of the grouping, in alphabetical order.

The former general said the private sector is the key driver for economic growth and called on the public sector and the private sector to find common strengths and capacities “so we can move forward together with strength, sustainability in a comprehensive way”.

He also said that he hopes Asean countries can continue to work together and drive forward the global economy “with people at the centre without leaving anyone behind and looking forward to the future”.

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