Prime Minister Prayut emphasised the significant role of technology and innovation in reinforcing COVID-19 recovery efforts and proposed “3 New” concept, namely promoting “New Economic Models”, exploring the “New Engine of Growth", and building a “New Economic Ecosystem” at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2020.

On 13 November 2020, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, delivered a keynote address on “Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth” at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2020 (ASEAN BIS 2020) via video message, which was convened at the sidelines of the 37^th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits.

In his keynote, Prime Minister highlighted the significant role of technology and innovation in reinforcing COVID-19 recovery efforts and promoting inclusive growth, as well as supporting ASEAN’s core objectives towards narrowing the development gap and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs. In this regard, he proposed the “Three New” concept, including (1) promoting “New Economic Models” that seek to thrive in balance between economic growth, technological advancement, social equality and environmental sustainability, such as Thailand’s “BCG Model”, which is based on the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy; (2) exploring the “New Engine of Growth” by utilising science, technology and innovation to maximise the strength of ASEAN economy, as well as enhancing the capacity of SMEs in ASEAN and the development of a financial facility to support them; and (3) building a “New Economic Ecosystem” through the development of digital infrastructure accessible for both small businesses and individuals, as well as promoting comprehensive digital trade connectivity to support a full digital integration towards becoming “Digital ASEAN”.    

ASEAN Business and Investment Summit is an annual event organised by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) on the margins of the ASEAN Summit as a platform for dialogue between Leaders from ASEAN, Dialogue Partners, and business sector on the ways forward for economic development in ASEAN. This year, the event was hosted by Viet Nam, as the Chair of ASEAN-BAC, under the theme “Digital ASEAN: Sustainable and Inclusive”. Also delivered keynote addresses via video message at the ASEAN BIS 2020 were Leaders from Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Australia and India.