The 6th ASEAN Lecture was held in Bangkok today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand. Mr Samak Sundaravej, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, delivered the Lecture on the theme “ASEAN: A New Era with a People Agenda”.
This year marks the sixth year of the ASEAN Lecture. Each year, an eminent person from an ASEAN Member State would be invited to deliver the lecture. The purpose is to provide a key platform to bring wider attention to strategic issues of vital importance to ASEAN.
Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN, who gave the introductory remarks said, “It is most timely for Thailand to host the ASEAN Lecture 2008, given that Thailand now holds the Chairmanship of ASEAN.” He expressed confidence that ASEAN will become more people-oriented under Thailand’s leadership.
Mr Samak Sundaravej adds to the list of eminent speakers of the ASEAN Lecture. Past speakers were: then President of Indonesia, Her Excellency Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2003; then Prime Minister of Viet Nam His Excellency Phan Van Khai in 2004; the President of Indonesia His Excellency Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005; Prime Minister of Malaysia His Excellency Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2006; and, Prime Minister of Singapore His Excellency Lee Hsien Loong in 2007.
