Thai Prime Minister's visit to the White House

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Thai Prime Minister's visit to the White House

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Trump welcomes Prayut to White House lunch

3 Oct 2017

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump welcomed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to the White House on Monday - a rare instance of a military ruler being feted in Washington before even a nominal return to civilian rule.

Gen Prayut was greeted at the South Portico by both Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump as he arrived for talks and a working lunch. Gen Prayut's Naraporn accompanied the prime minister.

Describing Gen Prayut's visit as a "great honour," President Trump offered a symbolic show of unity.

"We've had a long and very storied history with Thailand," Mr Trump said as the pair sat in the Oval Office.

"We have a very strong relationship right now," he added. "And it's getting stronger in the last nine months", since Mr Trump became president.

Shortly after the visit, Gen Prayut spoke to the US media.

He expressed concern over the hurricane damage in Puerto Rico and the massacre in Las Vegas that killed 58 people.

After praising the 184-year US-Thai friendship, he said that he and Mr Trump had discussed security, including the necessity of continuing the Cobra Gold war games.

"I have invited Ivanka Trump (the president's daughter and entrepreneur) to Thailand," he said.

Spokesmen said Gen Prayut wanted her to see the progress in the fight against human trafficking. She sells a line of clothing in the US, mostly made in China.

Gen Prayut said he and the president discussed North Korea, and he reiterated support for UN sanctions. Without using the word "Rohingya", the premier said they also discussed "the situation in Rakhine State".

There appeared to be no progress on either issue.

On the trade balance, Gen Prayut told reporters there are currently 23 large Thai firms with investments of $5.6 billion in the US, all of them planning expansions. The Thai firms provide more than 8,000 US jobs.

Human rights groups are outraged, but it gives a shot in the arm to US relations with its oldest ally in Asia.

Mr Trump told Gen Prayut he wants to reduce the US trade deficit with Thailand.

"Our relationship on trade is becoming more important and it's a great country to trade with", Mr Trump said to Gen Prayut in front of reporters. "I think we're going to try to sell a little bit more to you, if that's possible."

The Trump administration, like the Obama administration before it, maintains that relations with Thailand will only be fully restored when democracy returns. But rolling out the red carpet for Gen Prayut reflects a shift in US foreign policy priorities.

Mr Trump espouses a doctrine of "America First," prioritising US trade and strategic interests. He's more willing to engage with anti-democratic leaders and less troubled by their human rights records.

It's not that unusual for US presidents to meet autocrats in the Oval Office, but coup leaders are more contentious.

Perhaps the closest recent comparison to Gen Prayut's visit would be that of former Pakistani army chief Gen Pervez Musharraf, who emerged as a close ally of President George W Bush in the war on terror. Musharraf first visited the White House in 2002, three years after he seized power from an elected leader and before he'd rammed through a national referendum to endorse his presidency.

Mr Trump has barrelled through criticism about outreach to authoritarian foreign leaders as he looks to shore up America's long-standing alliances.

He praised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for his deadly war on drugs that has left thousands dead, according a leaked transcript of an April phone call. In the same month, Trump welcomed Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to the White House - something that Obama avoided. El-Sissi had taken power in a 2013 coup and later was elected president.

"Civil society, human rights and good governance in Thailand are under attack," said T Kumar, Amnesty International USA's advocacy director for Asia. "The military government has restricted freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, creating an environment where people risk arrest and persecution for exercising their basic human rights. If these laws are not repealed, fear and repression could become the new normal in Thailand."

A US National Security Council spokesman, who was not authorised to speak publicly on planning for the visit and requested anonymity, said the US will continue to urge Thailand to return to participatory democracy and restore civil liberties. He declined to say whether those points would be raised by Mr Trump, but said the president could discuss how to strengthen US-Thai relations.

After the coup, the United States stopped military assistance and training programmes. Under Mr Trump, the US has authorised more arms sales.

John Sifton of Human Rights Watch predicted there wouldn't be substantial discussion on human rights on Monday. "Trump praises autocratic leaders the world over with little comment on their abuses," Mr Sifton said.

Walter Lohman at the right-leaning Heritage Foundation said if Mr Trump did raise democracy with Gen Prayut it would be behind the scenes, which he argued would be most effective with a country sensitive to foreign criticism.

"We need to be concerned about human rights and democracy, but it can't dictate our relationships with our allies," Mr Lohman said.

Story and photos: https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politi ... ouse-lunch
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Prayut, Trump remarks; full text

3 Oct 2017

Following is the text of a White House press release on remarks made by Gen Prayut and Mr Trump. Sections pertaining solely to US issues by Mr Trump have been omitted.

Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha of Thailand Before Bilateral Meeting

Oval Office
12.33pm Monday, EDT (11.30pm Monday Thailand time)

President Trump: Thank you very much. It's a great honour to have Prime Minister Prayut of Thailand and Mrs (Naraporn) Prayut. This is a very great honour for us.

We've had a long and very storied history with Thailand. In fact, we were just mentioning that Andrew Jackson, who is on the wall, was the president when we first developed the big relationship.

So we have a very strong relationship right now, as of this moment, and it's getting stronger in the last nine months. We've done a lot of things together, and it is a tremendous -- it's really very good to have you with us.

This has been a rough day for us because of what took place in Las Vegas, but this was a long-scheduled meeting and it is a great honour. Thank you very much.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha: (Unofficial; as interpreted.) As the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand and on behalf of the people of Thailand, I am very delighted and it is a great honour for me to be here to meet Mr President and, of course, the First Lady.

Mr President has mentioned about the relationship between our two countries. We are long-standing allies. Of course, Thailand would like to take this opportunity to express my condolences to those victims and family of the shooting incident in Las Vegas last night. And I wish to express our solidarity with the American people.

Moreover, I would also like to express my condolences to those victims and their family in the US and in Puerto Rico who are affected by hurricane. The government of Thailand and our private sector have also pledged for financial assistance.

We wish all the best for all success to Mr President to tackle all these problems.

Coming to meet Mr President today is a good opportunity for me and for the Thai government and the people of Thailand to work closely to further strengthen the cooperation between our two countries.

We work, of course, in hand on our security defence cooperation to help ensure that our citizens are safeguarded from terrorism and other threats. Of course, we will work closely in order we solve the regional issue of concern, of course.

I am confident that, with President's leadership, we will be able to tackle all the problems and work together in order to further strengthen the cooperation between our two countries, which we already mentioned that we have a long history of relationship -- 200 years.

I also would like to commend the First Lady on playing such a vital role in looking after those who have less opportunity. Of course, your daughter also worked very closely in order to tackle the problem. I know that she developed the interest to solve the issues of women and children. So therefore, Thailand stands ready to work closely with the First Lady and with Mr President of course.

President Trump: I do want to say that our relationship on trade -- and we've been negotiating very long and hard, and we're meeting with our representatives in a little while to go further. But our relationship on trade is becoming more and more important. And it's a great country to trade with; they make product and different things that are really very important to us, and we likewise sell to you.

I think we're going to try and sell a little bit more to you now, make that a little bit better if that's possible. But we have a big, full period of time scheduled with our two staffs.

... So thank you very much everybody. Appreciate it. Thank you.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/genera ... -full-text
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Re: Thai Prime Minister's visit to the White House

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PM receives US Senate Resolution honoring the late King

By NNT -

October 6, 2017

Bangkok – The Prime Minister has received a copy of the US Senate’s resolution honoring His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej as part of his trip to enhance ties between Thailand and the United States.

On the final day of his official visit to America, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-ocha met with President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate, Orrin Hatch, at Capitol Hill to receive a copy of the house’s resolution honoring the late King for his support of Thai-US relations throughout his 70 year reign.

The PM later met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan and took a tour of the Rotunda dome within the building.

Leaving from the Senate, the premier chaired a discussion involving Thai investors in the US where representatives from both sides voiced readiness to cooperate in trade and to enhance US trade with Thailand and ASEAN.

Gen Prayut told the gathering that he would continue to push for stronger ties between the private sectors of Thailand and the United States on the basis of mutual benefit, calling on Thai business people to draft a new data set that better represents the country in its current state.

On the final evening of his visit, the PM attended a dinner organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Chamber of commerce in his honor. At the function, Gen Prayut voiced his appreciation of US President Donald Trump and his country for honoring Thailand in spite of its many limitations, saying that the continued good ties underline the US’ genuine friendship with Thailand. He also recommended that Thailand and the US adhere to a treaty that ensures US businesspeople have equal rights with local operators in Thailand and that its practical application would help achieve a trade goal worth 8.5 billion USD.

The PM’s final mission while in the US is to meet Thai communities before departing for Thailand.

Story and photo: http://www.pattayamail.com/thailandnews ... ing-188322
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