Mekong-Lancang Summit not cancelled, Thailand continues to hold the meeting, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sits at the head of the table instead of ‘Maris’, joins ‘Wang Yi’, while ministers from each country have arrived in Chiang Mai. As for the schedule regarding the Prime Minister, it has been canceled.
Foreign ministers of the Mekong-Lancang Cooperation member countries, including China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, have arrived at Chiang Mai International Airport to attend the 9th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as scheduled on August 16, 2024.
The first foreign minister to arrive was Wang Yi, member of the Politburo, director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China and foreign minister of China, followed by Myanmar Foreign Minister Than Suay, Cambodian Foreign Minister Sok Chhenda Sophea, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang, and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Salemxay
Kommasith.
In this regard, Ekasiri Pindaruchi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will co-chair the meeting with Mr. Wang Yi, replacing Mr. Marist Sengiampong, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, after the ministers had to resign from their positions as a whole because the Prime Minister’s ministerial status ended, according to the Constitutional Court’s ruling No. 17/2567 on August 14, 67.
In addition, some of the Prime Minister’s schedules have been canceled, such as the opening speech by the Prime Minister and the courtesy calls to the Prime Minister by the foreign ministers of the member countries. However, the joint press conference between the Chinese Foreign Minister and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand will continue.
Source: Thai News Agency