Your Royal Highness,
Ministers,
The Secretary-General of ASEAN,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
It is indeed my great pleasure to welcome all of you to the 42nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and to the island of Phuket, the “Pearl of the Andaman Sea.”
We gather here today in a city and province with a rich history – a city that has grown from a mining centre into a world famous tourism destination; a province that bravely weathered the devastation of the Tsunami of 2004 and has revitalised itself with the dynamic local economy that we …

Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today said when the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) become a single economic community in 2015, the ASEAN Community should be “a community of action, connectivity and peoples”.
In his keynote address to mark the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Phuket, PM Abhisit, on behalf of the chair of the 10-nation bloc, expressed confident that ASEAN will continue to move forward towards the goal of becoming a community so the member countries should begin to think about what type of community …

Thai premier Abhisit Vejjajiva
Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva today said he would extend an invitation to US President Barack Obama to visit Thailand via the US Secretary of State.
According to a report of the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA), Prime Minister Abhisit disclosed during his weekly television and radio address that his invitation to the US president will be made via US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who will arrive in Thailand on Tuesday and later meet with the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during …

The 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) / Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC)
and
The 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
17-23 July 2009
Phuket, Thailand
 
FRIDAY, 17 JULY 2009
0900-1030 hrs - Drafting Committee of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting / Drafting Committee of the ASEAN Directors-General Meeting
1400-1500 hrs - Meeting of the Working Group of the Executive Committee of the SEANWFZ Commission
1600-1700 hrs - Meeting of Initiative for ASEAN Integration Taskforce
1900-2100 hrs - ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting Informal Working Dinner / ASEAN Directors-General Informal Working Dinner
 
SATURDAY, 18 JULY 2009
0900-1700 hrs - ASEAN Senior …

The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) yesterday said he was confident in the security measures provided by Thai authorities for ASEAN meetings.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said during a press briefing in Phuket that Thailand was ready to host the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the 16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), scheduled for July 19-23, in the southern resort.
“I can assure you all that Thailand’s preparation on the security arrangements is superb. I am most confident that the Meetings will proceed without …

Your Excellency Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Sohn Kyung Shik, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Excellencies, Distinguished Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen.
 
It is a great pleasure and honour for me to give a keynote speech at this historic CEO Summit, which brings together leading CEOs from ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.  I had no hesitation in accepting the invitation because I have always believed that there is a need for the private sector to play a greater role in restoring confidence …