On 12 September 2018, Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Thailand, on behalf of the Prime Minister of Thailand, attended the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018 held at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi. The Forum’s theme was “ASEAN 4.0: Entrepreneurship and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” 

          During the Opening Session, ACM Prajin delivered Thailand’s vision on “The Future of ASEAN in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which stressed Thailand’s role as an enabler of connectivity in the ASEAN region, through initiatives such as ACMECS and BIMSTEC, which could promote support ASEAN’s people-centered approach. As for the challenges brought upon by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), Thailand noted that the people at the margins are most vulnerable. It was, therefore, necessary to focus on education and human resources development, in order to ensure that the people will have better employment opportunities and better economic gains, consistent with Thailand’s vision of “Society 4.0” and concrete implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

          In the afternoon, ACM Prajin was a panelist in the special session on “A New Vision for the Mekong Region”, together with the Prime Ministers of Viet Nam, Lao PDR, Cambodia and the State Counsellor of Myanmar. The panelists underlined regional peace and cooperation as the core benefit of the economic integration among the countries of the Mekong region (CLMTV). All saw the Mekong River as the source of development and cooperation. They also acknowledged that the recent ACMECS Summit (Ayeyawady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy framework) held in Bangkok in June 2018 was a significant step towards realizing the vision of seamless integration relating to physical, institutional, and people connectivity. ACM Prajin stressed that ACMECS not only serves to enhance connectivity within the ASEAN region, but can also link with China, Japan, Korea, the Asia-Pacific, and the regions beyond, including the Asia and Europe. 

          During this visit, ACM Prajin also met with Prof. Dr. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF, to discuss further cooperation with the WEF on advancement of Thailand 4.0 Policy. 

          The WEF on ASEAN is an annual regional conference that attracts political leaders, leading private sector as well as civil society. The Forum allows leaders from various sectors to share their visions and discuss key policies on economic, social and development for the ASEAN region.