PM:Thailand will host ASEAN Summit in 2019

BANGKOK, August 10 (TNA) - Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha says that Thailand will play the role of the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and host the ASEAN Summit 2019 and related forums. While chairing a meeting of Thai ambassadors and consuls general who are stationed in neighboring countries at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok on Friday, the prime minister suggested that the top Thai envoys report what are obstacles of Thailand's chairmanship of ASEAN and host of the ASEAN Summit 2019 and related forums. The prime minister also suggested that the top Thai envoys discuss with each other and timely find ways to settle the obstacles to smoothen Thailand's chairmanship of the 10-member ASEAN and and host of the ASEAN Summit 2019 and related forums. The prime minister stressed that such a protesting incident troubling Thailand's host of an ASEAN summit and related forums in the past should never happen again. Thailand is scheduled to take the ASEAN chairmanship from Singapore in November 2018, but the Indonesian media sector, led by The Jakarta Post English-language daily newspaper, has expressed its opposition to Thailand's chairmanship under the military junta, headed by Prime Minister General Prayut, for its allegedly-limiting the freedom of expression of the press and people, especially those in the opposition camp, after it toppled, in May 2014, the former Thai administration of ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra that took office from a general election. (TNA)