SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will stress the need for sustainable development, preparing for an ageing society and cyber security at the Asean Summit that kicks off in Singapore Friday, government deputy spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak said.
During the summit, the leaders of the 10 Asean member states are expected to endorse three documents: one on Asean leaders' vision of a resilient and innovative trading bloc; one on a smart cities network; and a third on cybersecurity cooperation.
"We are facing many challenges and Asean needs something new to be able to tackle that situation and handle these challenges," Lt Gen Werachon said.
Singapore is championing the idea of a resilient and innovative trading bloc and Thailand is supporting it, he added.
The PM will focus on promoting human security. He will also propose setting up an Asean studies centre on sustainable development to help reduce the yawning income gap, Lt Gen Werachon said.
On innovation, Gen Prayut will promote Asean as a digital society and encourage the sharing of resources to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to foster innovation. Thailand has also proposed conducting studies to predict the trends and the impact of innovation over the next 20 years.
Gen Prayut will also emphasise the need for greater connectivity within Asean, the deputy government spokesman said.
As each member state must propose three cities in which to run pilot versions of the Asean Smart Cities Network, Thailand will suggest Bangkok, Phuket and Chon Buri as its contribution, he added.
"We are thinking about the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC). The digital economy is also vital for connecting each country," he said.
"We want to make sure the EEC can connect easily with other cities in Asean," he said.
The EEC is being set up in three provinces east of Bangkok to promote a range of highly skilled industries using cutting-edge technology.
After the summit concludes Gen Prayut will chair the 11th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) Summit tomorrow afternoon.
Meanwhile, Suriya Chindawongse, director-general of the Asean affairs department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Asean has its work cut out in dealing with such a broad range of issues.
These include peace building in the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea, the Rohingya refugee crisis, a possible trade war, and new regional economic cooperation including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.