H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, will attend the Special ASEAN Summit and the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on COVID-19 via video conference on Tuesday, 14 April 2020. The Summits will be chaired by the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam as the current ASEAN Chair.

This will be the first time in ASEAN history that innovative technology will provide platforms for the Leaders of the 10 ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s Plus Three Partners, namely China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, to discuss via video conference and reaffirm their shared commitment to cooperate in a concrete manner and coordinate an effective and timely response to the spread of COVID-19. This includes mitigating the far-reaching socio-economic impact caused by the pandemic, and preparing for a post-COVID recovery to restore confidence and the return to normalcy in the region. The Summits will also focus on areas of cooperation such as the exchange of information and best practices, strengthening national and regional capacity in responding to public health emergencies, providing assistance to nationals of ASEAN Plus Three Countries, promoting effective public communication and countering fake news and misinformation, preserving regional supply chain, especially the flow of essential goods and services, and sharing of measures undertaken to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19.  The Summits are expected to emphasise the need to provide sufficient resources for COVID-19 response.