The Thai private sector is ready to host the Apec CEO Summit 2022 in November, focusing on inflation, the energy and food crisis, economic rehabilitation after the pandemic, and sustainability.
According to Poj Aramwattananont, chairman of the summit and a member of the Apec Business Advisory Council (Abac) Thailand, the event scheduled for Nov 16-18 in Bangkok will be a gathering of the world's top CEOs, Apec leaders, policymakers and thought leaders from 21 member economies.
He said they will share their visions and join forces to drive global trade and economic growth.
"The meeting is a perfect opportunity to search for solutions to tackle current business challenges faced by the Asia-Pacific region and the world," said Mr Poj.
"The summit will be instrumental in helping Apec leaders to tackle short-term issues, particularly the impacts of rising inflation, the energy and food crisis, sustainability, and how to rehabilitate economies after the deadly pandemic."
The summit is part of the annual Apec Economic Leaders' meeting, which is scheduled for Nov 18-19 in Bangkok.
An Abac meeting is slated for Nov 13-16 to summarise the proposals of the private sector for the summit and present them to the economic leaders' meeting, he said.
"This year's summit will be the first time at least 1,000 prominent economists and business leaders are scheduled to meet in person. More than 10 leaders from Apec member economies will give keynote speeches on topics that are of high public interest," said Mr Poj.
"The venue also offers a good opportunity for the Thai private sector to showcase to the world its potential, be it in food security, investment, tourism or finance. For this reason, the business sector is encouraging young entrepreneurs around Thailand to take part in hosting the event. This outreach is crucial as the younger generations will play a key role in driving the country's economy in the future."
Kasemsit Pathomsak, executive director of the Apec CEO Summit 2022 and Abac, said a key theme of the conference is sustainability, in line with bio-, circular and green economic development.
The summit will be a "green meeting" with an environmentally friendly focus, aiming to latch on to a global trend, said Mr Kasemsit.
"The summit is important because it marks the first time for a face-to-face meeting in many years. Several economic zones have new leaders and there are new global challenges such as innovation, the future of Asia-Pacific, trade and investment, health and sustainability," he said.
"Many leaders have been invited to showcase their visions, including the president of the US, who is likely to attend because the US will be the host and president of the Apec meeting next year."
