H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, was invited to the G20 Osaka Summit, as Chairman of ASEAN, during 28-29 June 2019, at the invitation of the Japanese government. H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, also joined the delegation. 

 

      This year's G20 summit addressed four main themes : the global economy; innovation; reducing inequalities while enhancing sustainability and inclusiveness; and the environment, climate change and energy. 

 

      The Prime Minister's intervention highlighted the outcome of the 34th ASEAN Summit held in Bangkok during 22-23 June 2019, which emphasised the importance of international cooperation to promote economic stability and inclusive, sustainable growth. This idea formed the basis for the theme of Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability,” and the two outcome documents endorsed by the ASEAN leaders, namely, the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo - Pacific.”

 

      To realise the concepts of these documents, the Prime Minister proposed greater cooperation with G20 members, especially those that are ASEAN Dialogue Partners, to promote long-term stability and sustainable economic growth, such as continuing trade liberalisation, by aiming to conclude the RCEP this year, strengthen the multilateral trading system through WTO reform, reducing inequalities and preparing for an ageing society, promoting sustainable use of marine resources, and combatting marine debris. In addition, there could be further cooperation to exchange best practices and capacity building on the use of technology to enhance quality of life, including support for Digital and Green ASEAN, the Smart Cities Networks, and promoting financial inclusiveness. 

 

      The Prime Minister also had a meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, to discuss financial inclusiveness for women and underprivileged groups. He also had bilateral meetings, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India.

 

      The G20 was founded in 1999 as a forum for the world’s top 20 economies to discuss and coordinate policies to promote international economic and financial stability while responding to emerging challenges. Membership of the G20 consists of 8 advanced industrial countries (United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, United States, and Australia) and 11 large developing countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey) and the European Union. Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 90 per cent of the world GDP and two-thirds of the world population. Japan, as the Chairman of G20 this year, also invited 8 countries to the Summit, namely, Spain (Permanent Guest), the Netherlands, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand (ASEAN Chair), Chile (APEC Chair), Egypt (African Union Chair) and Senegal (NEPAD Chair).