Chinese President Xi Jinping has confirmed he will attend the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Bangkok next week while Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend but will send a representative instead, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told the TASS news agency on Friday that the Russian delegation to the Apec summit in Thailand will be headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov.
At yesterday's press conference, Cherdchai Chaivaivid, director-general of the Department of International Economic Affairs, confirmed that 13 foreign leaders and seven representatives of the Apec member economies would attend the summit on Nov 18-19.
The foreign leaders include Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chilean President Gabriel Boric, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu. Other foreign leaders are Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
(From left) Xi: First visit to Thailand as leader; Putin: Confirmed unable to attend.
The seven representatives are South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Peru's Vice-President Dina Boluarte, Russia's First Deputy Prime minister Andrey Belousov, Mexican ambassador to Thailand Jaime Nualart, Modh Zuki Ali, the chief secretary to the Malaysian Government, Morris Chang, Senior Advisor to Taiwanese President, and US Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Confirmed special guests from three non-member countries attending the event are Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen as the current chair of Asean, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said that Their Majesties the King and Queen will grant an audience to Apec leaders, representatives, special guests and their spouses at Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall at the Grand Palace on Nov 18.
Mr Tanee said that during the summit, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha would raise issues related to joint efforts to revitalise the economy in the Asia-Pacific region post-pandemic. Gen Prayut will also ask Apec delegates to support Thailand's push for the bio-circular-green (BCG) model for sustainable economic growth, he said.
Thai and Saudi Arabian officials run through security drills yesterday at Government House to welcome Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud to the Apec 2022 summit. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)
Thailand's BCG model is aimed at encouraging manufacturers to adopt techniques that can add value to their products with little to no impact on the environment.
Mr Tanee further said that ahead of the summit, Apec senior officials will hold their final meeting on Nov 15-16 to sum up Apec's work over the past several months and prepare for the 33rd Apec Ministerial Meeting on Nov 17 and the Apec summit on Nov 18-19.
According to a press release issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr Xi will arrive in Thailand on Nov 17 to attend the Apec summit. He will meet Gen Prayut to discuss a range of topics at Government House after the summit wraps up on Nov 19.
It will be Mr Xi's first official visit to Thailand as Chinese president. He visited Thailand as Chinese vice president on Dec 22-24, 2011.
Topics under discussion will include the Thai-Chinese comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership which marks the 10th anniversary this year and the concept of building a community with a shared future between the two countries as well as matters related to regional cooperation and connectivity, according to the ministry.
