On 31 August 2009, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya presided over the opening ceremony of the First Southeast Asia Dialogue of Caux Round Table (CRT) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CRT was co-sponsored by the Thai Foreign Ministry together with the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and the Banyan Tree Global Foundation.
In his opening remarks, the Foreign Minister welcomed the CRT participants, comprising more than forty prominent businessmen fromThailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the US. He stated that co-sponsoring the Round Table was part of the Ministry’s public diplomacy to reach out to public and private sectors.
For the region of Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) shares not only as physical connectivity but also as connectivity of mind and spirit of the ASEAN peoples. Learning and understanding different societies and cultures helps shape the region in a more integrated manner. Foreign Minister Kasit expressed his high hope that Thailand can learn a great deal from discussions and experiences shared during the CRT meeting and adapt them to the country’s undertakings in overcoming domestic issues including resolving the situation in Southern Thailand.
CRT is an international network of principled business leaders working to promote good governance and corporate social responsibility. The CRT held at the Ministry was the Round Table’s first dialogue with the region in bringing out Southeast Asian contributions to a new global ethic. The Round Table was divided into two sessions: Quranic Guidance for Good Governance and Sufficiency Economy Approach to Business Decision-making and Economic Development.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th