On 15 – 19 2024, H.E. Mr. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, joined the Thai delegation that was led the Prime Minister to attend the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 (WEF2024) in Davos, Swiss Confederation. The 54th WEF Annual Meeting in 2024 has a theme of “Rebuilding Trust”, focusing on four workstreams, namely: (1) Achieving Cooperation and Security in a Fractured World; (2) Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era; (3) Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society; (4) A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature and Energy. The WEF 2024 was attended by more than 2,800 individuals, including high-level representatives from over 100 countries and more than 50 heads of state/government. For Thailand, this is the first time in 12 years that the Prime Minister led the Thai delegation to the Annual Meeting (the last time was in 2012 by Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, former Prime Minister). He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Transport, per the invitation of WEF. This was also the first visit to Europe by both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister since taking office.

On the sidelines of the WEF2024, the Deputy Prime Minister had 2 bilateral meetings with Mrs. Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Mr. Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to discuss issues of mutual interest. He also exchanged views in 4 WEF events, which were (1) Diplomacy Dialogue on Myanmar: Preventing a Lost Decade, an academic talk with a closed group of experts on the situation in Myanmar. DPM/FM underscored Thailand’s leading role in providing humanitarian assistance in Myanmar, and advancing proactive and constructive cooperation to build stability in the region; (2) Strategy Session on National Action to Advance the Circularity of Plastics, together with other Ministers and senior level representatives from international organizations and the private sector, with a particular focus on how to promote plastics circularity; (3) Roundtable on Trade, Climate, and Finance, together with other Ministers and senior level representatives from international organizations, focusing on trade and finance policies to drive climate action forward; and (4) Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) Roundtable on Preventing Economic Fracture, together with leaders, Ministers and heads of International Organisations/private sector, on ways to strengthen the economy, rebuild trust and foster inclusive economic development.

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister, together with the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, also attended bilateral meetings between the Prime Minister and 6 leaders of governments and international organisations, namely, Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, Mr. Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium (currently President of the European Union during January-June 2024), Ms. Viola Amherd, President of the Swiss Confederation, Samdech Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, The Right Honourable Sir Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) and former Prime Minister the United Kingdom, and Prof. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of WEF.

During the same occasion, the Prime Minister participated in 3 WEF events, which were (1) Country Strategy Dialogue (CSD) on Thailand, a dedicated session organized by WEF for Thailand, where the PM presented his government’s vision and policy priorities, as well as exchanged views with CEOs of world-leading companies. The Deputy Prime Minister was also present; (2) Session on Thailand Landbridge: Connecting ASEAN with the World, also a dedicated session organized by WEF, where the PM and the Transport Minister presented the Landbridge mega project, and exchanged ideas with a select group of investors; and (3) Panel on Learning from ASEAN, a live-streamed session through WEF and CNN, where the PM presented Thailand’s views on ASEAN and vision on ASEAN’s potential, together with other speakers (PM of Viet Nam, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, and DG WTO), with Julia Chatterley, CNN News Anchor, as moderator of the session. Moreover, he also had bilateral meetings with business leaders from 13 companies.

The WEF is an international non-governmental organization aimed to drive collaboration and exchanges between the public and private sector. It was established in 1971 by Professor Klaus Schwab (German national), currently known as Founder and Executive Chairman, with Mr. Børge Brende, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway as President of the WEF. The WEF has over 1,000 members, comprising global leading companies from various sectors, including 10 companies from Thailand, namely PTT, CP Group, Thai Beverage, SCG, Indorama, Bang Chak, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, SCB X, and Bitkup. The WEF is reputable for its Annual Meeting, held in January of every year in Davos, Swiss Confederation, which provides a prominent stage for heads of state/government and leaders of international organisations, businesses, and the civil society to engage in an intimate setting to allow for a frank and honest discussion and solid exchange of views and ideas.