Before leaving Bangkok on his way to attend the two-day ASEM summit in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra revealed that he was given an honour to deliver the closing speech at this year’s summit – because Thailand was the host of the very first ASEM meeting.
He said that he would speak on globalization, and that he would focus on urging developed countries with wide experience in information and communication technology (ICT) to assist developing countries to have access to the knowledge at low cost, reports MCOT News.
The Thai Prime Minister also revealed that his closing speech will include other major issues such as free trade, trade barriers and opportunities for workers from developing countries to work in developed countries with fair treament, he said.
We (Asian countries) have to have more penetration of the European market; so we must ask for fair subsidies for their farmers,” he said.
Prime Minister Thaksin said he expects the European leaders to also focus on negotiations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which have stalled and many countries are now starting to hold hold direct bilateral trade talks as they are easier to conclude.
Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to return to Bangkok early next Tuesday (September 12).
