US assistant secretary of state pleased with return to civilian rule
Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell on Friday expressed happiness with Thailand’s return to civilian rule and said the United States is keen to work with the government and help promote the investment climate in Southeast Asia.
Stilwell was speaking to reporters after he held talks with the Prime Minister’s Secretary-General, Disthat Hotrakit, for half an hour.
Stilwell said he was glad to have a chance to return to Thailand after visiting the Kingdom in 1973 when he was 11.
He said 2019 was an auspicious year for Thailand because the country became the chair of Asean and there was the coronation of His Majesty the King, so he would like to congratulate the Thai people for both events.
He said he believes Thailand would perform its duty as the chair of Asean with efficiency and he was happy to see that the Kingdom was now ruled by a civilian government again.
Stilwell said he discussed the issue of civilian government with Disthat and informed him that the US government looked forward to working with the new Thai administration.
He added that he is happy that Thailand has a chance to hold the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in November and the US would take the event as an opportunity to introduce American companies to potential Asean partners.
Stilwell said he was glad to see that US-Thai relations are moving in the same direction.
He said the US regards Thailand as a strategic partner and he expressed the belief that the bilateral ties of over 200 years – covering security and economic matters - would help the two countries prosper. This in turn would benefit the region.
Stilwell said that he sees the Asean region as a priority target for investment and the US has investments in Asean nations worth more than US$1 trillion.
Asked whether he expected to see any progress from a planned meeting between officials of the US Secretary of State and North Korea’s Foreign Ministry in Thailand later this month, Stilwell said he could not predict the meeting’s results.
Asked whether the US has any concerns regarding the March election in Thailand, Stilwell replied that Washington was happy to have seen the election proceed and that the US is waiting to see whether Thailand will transition to full democracy again.
