BANGKOK – A majority of Thai people think Thailand has benefited from the 35th Asean Summit, according to a survey by Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted between November 6-9, 2019, on 1,159 people throughout the country to collate their opinions on the Summit.
Asked about their overall level of interest in the Summit, 41.24 percent of the respondents said they were fairly interested while 21.23 percent were very interested. On the other hand, 24.16 percent were not particularly interested, saying that Thailand had hosted several Summits before, while 13.37 percent said they paid no attention to it at all.
Asked how impressed they were by the Summit, 46.98 percent said Thailand’s hosting of it was successful, since it was free of any untoward incidents. The rest of them said several important political and economic agreements were signed and that the attendance by delegates from many countries had helped promote mutual good relations in the Asean region.
However, 49.12 percent of the respondents said they worried that the agreements made would not actually be implemented. The rest of them raised concerns that Thailand might be left at a disadvantage in some of the agreements and said they had worried there would be rallies or protests during the Summit.
Asked whether Thailand had benefited from the Summit, 44.35 percent said “yes”, such as from the promotion of its image, while some of them said it had tightened relations with other countries as the Summit served as a forum promoting competitiveness. On the other hand, 19.41 percent said Thailand derived little benefit from the Summit, saying that past Summits it had hosted were slow to produce results, while 10.44 percent said Thailand did not benefit from it at all.
Asked about concrete achievements made during the Summit, 60.67 percent said several agreements on cooperation were signed to strive for economic improvements. The rest of them said that foreign news media covering the Summit had helped disseminate the Thai identity and that the Summit allowed leaders of various countries to outline their vision.
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