Following Prime Minister Anuthine Charnweerakul's opening of a government-private sector dialogue forum titled "Entrepreneurs Speak, Government Listens," Deputy Prime Minister Ekniti Nitithanprasad revealed the government is receptive to private sector proposals for economic advancement amid global energy crisis and Middle East instability. The private sector unanimously views this crisis as "a critical opportunity for Thailand" to attract foreign investment and manufacturing base relocations into the country, including industrial factories and supply chains.

The private sector stated Thailand must urgently "turn crisis into opportunity" through structural investment and systemic reforms to accommodate the global manufacturing base shift occurring across the ASEAN region.

Four Key Private Sector Proposals:

1. Water Resource Investment: Accelerate water infrastructure investment to support agriculture, the nation's crucial food production foundation, while warning of water scarcity risks later in the year from climate volatility.

2. Clean Energy and Electrical Grid Investment: Rapidly expand clean energy investments such as solar power while modernizing the electrical transmission grid to accommodate new energy forms.

3. Human Capital and Digital-AI Technology Investment: Accelerate workforce upskilling/reskilling for the AI economy, leveraging data center resources to advance digital and advanced technology industries, including domestic AI development.

4. New Growth Engines: Develop future industries including wellness tourism, digital-AI, modern agriculture, and advanced technology sectors, positioning Thailand as a regional manufacturing and financial hub.

Removing Investment Barriers: The private sector also proposed expediting regulatory reform, particularly authorization processes and land restrictions that delay investment, while praising the BOI Fast Track mechanism for accelerating approvals. They also recommended strengthening anti-corruption measures and establishing mechanisms to enhance transparency in government projects.

4T Economic Development Framework: The private sector proposed a "4T" development framework: * Targeted: Clear industry development goals * Transition: Energy shift from fossil fuels to clean energy * Transformation: Economic restructuring and human development * Together: Public-private sector collaboration

Next Steps: The Prime Minister plans to establish a Public-Private Joint Committee to consolidate all proposals into actionable implementation, serving as a systematic mechanism to drive Thailand's economic growth, with aims to restore Thailand as ASEAN's major economic center sustainably.

This dialogue reflects government-private sector cooperation in determining Thailand's economic direction, with the objective of elevating the nation back to sustainable prominence as ASEAN's key economic hub. The private sector expressed concerns about Thailand's current economic situation amid cost-of-living pressures.

On May 15, 2569, General Panya Khlaewplodtuk, Commander of the Royal Thai Army (CTA), attended the third day of the Land Forces Pacific (LANPAC) conference. In the morning, he held bilateral discussions with General Ronald P. Clark, Commander of the United States Army Pacific (USARPAC), to strengthen military cooperation between the two nations.

Both sides agreed to develop and enhance training and educational programs beyond their existing joint exercises under the Cobra Gold and Hanuman Guardian frameworks, which continue to be elevated. They also discussed future training initiatives, including jungle warfare operations. Additionally, the Thai Army outlined plans to expand its Stryker unit capabilities, which received commendation and promised support from the U.S. side.

In the afternoon, General Panya attended a demonstration exercise featuring infantry units conducting tactical assaults with live ammunition, accompanied by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and counter-UAV operations. The event also showcased advanced weapons systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from the United States, demonstrating the operational capabilities of the U.S. Army forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

The LANPAC 2026 conference serves as an important platform for strengthening military cooperation between Thailand and the United States across training, education, and military capability development, aimed at addressing the evolving security landscape and emerging challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.

Belgium's head coach Rudy Garcia has announced the 26-player squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, led by Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, and Jeremy Doku.

Belgium qualified for the 2026 World Cup final tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. On May 15, Garcia revealed his final squad selection for the competition.

Notably, the roster includes 33-year-old Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury and has seen limited playing time recently.

Several experienced players remain in the squad, including Kevin De Bruyne, Napoli's playmaker; Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid's goalkeeper; and Leandro Trossard of Arsenal.

Form players including Jeremy Doku of Manchester City and Senne Lemmens, Manchester United's defender, also made the cut.

Belgium's 26-player squad includes:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lemmens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Strasbourg)

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Coni De Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoyo (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Frankfurt)

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Yuri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona)

Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)

Belgium has been drawn in Group J alongside Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand.

The government has adopted private sector proposals as an urgent economic agenda, instructing their conversion into action plans to revive the economy and establishing a joint public-private monitoring system, emphasizing that this platform is not simply for listening but for taking concrete action.

On May 15, 2026, at Government House, Prime Minister's Spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek summarized key points from discussions between the government and private sector aimed at developing Thailand's economic competitiveness. The meeting was led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, Minister of Interior, cabinet members, senior private sector executives, and government agency leaders.

The primary objective of these discussions is to gather input from all sectors, enabling the government to promote and support Thai entrepreneurs across all industries to compete at full capacity. The government has previously prioritized removing obstacles and strengthening the private sector through regulatory improvements, elimination of redundant approval processes, addressing labor shortages, developing workforce skills aligned with modern industries, and promoting the green economy—which plays an increasingly vital role in the global economy.

The Prime Minister also discussed Thailand's participation in the recent ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, where Thailand promoted energy stability cooperation through the ASEAN Power Grid concept, as well as clean energy collaboration and food security initiatives. He emphasized that "ASEAN must speak with a more unified voice" to strengthen regional resilience, increase negotiating power, and elevate ASEAN's role in global geopolitics.

The Prime Minister noted that many countries prioritize clean energy, logistics systems, and food security—areas where Thailand has significant potential and readiness. Thailand can become ASEAN's center for driving these cooperative efforts to strengthen economic security and resilience across the region.

The Prime Minister stated that Thailand has a significant opportunity to elevate its economic potential beyond many other nations. However, such success requires "the public and private sectors moving forward together."

This government is ready to facilitate all aspects without adhering to outdated restrictions, obsolete laws, or cumbersome procedures, and is committed to accelerating business agility, investment, and employment to strengthen the country's capacity and drive robust growth across all sectors.

The Prime Minister noted that government officials and relevant agencies—including deputy prime ministers, economic agencies, the National Development Council, and the Board of Investment (BOI)—participated fully in organizing this event to listen to proposals and exchange ideas closely with the private sector. The government intends for this forum to be the beginning of in-depth discussions to translate proposals and needs from all sectors into concrete results.

The Prime Minister concluded by emphasizing that private sector success is Thailand's success, and called for all parties to engage in full discussions. The government will host a dinner for Thailand's leading private sector representatives today, hoping to leverage all proposals, ideas, and information received to advance national development and maximize benefits for Thailand and its people.

Following this, the Prime Minister and cabinet members heard recommendations from senior private sector executives representing 10 major industry groups.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met leading Thai business executives at Government House on 15 May to discuss ways to strengthen the country's economic competitiveness amid global economic challenges.

The meeting, held at Phakdibodin Building, brought together cabinet ministers and some of Thailand's most influential business figures, including Dhanin Chearavanont of Charoen Pokphand Group, Vathit Chokwatana of Saha Pathanapibul, Sarath Ratanavadi of Gulf Development and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha of King Power.

Anutin said the meeting was intended as a platform for the private sector to speak while the government listened, stressing that economic growth could not be achieved without close cooperation between the state and businesses.

"The government and private sector must move forward together," he said. "If businesses succeed, Thailand succeeds. Everyone becomes a winner."

The prime minister said the government was focused on reducing regulatory obstacles, simplifying approval procedures, addressing labour shortages and supporting industries linked to green energy and modern technologies.

Anutin also referred to discussions during last week's ASEAN Summit in the Philippines, where regional leaders focused on clean energy cooperation, an ASEAN power grid and food security. He said ASEAN countries were increasingly aligned on issues such as clean energy, logistics and food security, adding that Thailand had strong potential to become a regional hub in all three sectors.

The meeting was followed by a dinner hosted by the government for the business leaders.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met UNESCO Director-General Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz at Government House on May 15 to discuss cooperation on culture, artificial intelligence, education and sustainable development.

During the meeting at Thai Khu Fah Building, Anutin reaffirmed Thailand's commitment to working closely with UNESCO to strengthen the country's international role and create new opportunities in culture, technology and the economy.

A major focus of the discussions was Thailand's plan to nominate traditional Thai dress, or "Chud Thai", for inclusion on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.

The government said the move aims to promote Thai soft power and expand the economic value of Thai fashion, handicrafts, tourism and creative industries globally. Thailand is also preparing to hold an exhibition titled "Royal Thai Dress: From Tradition to Modernity" at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris on May 25, featuring outfits worn by Queen Sirikit and all eight styles of royal-endorsed traditional Thai dress.

The meeting also covered Thailand's efforts to preserve its cultural and natural world heritage sites and plans to establish an international AI governance centre under the Electronic Transactions Development Agency in cooperation with UNESCO. According to the government, the proposed centre would position Thailand as a regional hub for AI research, standards and ethical governance.

UNESCO also proposed that Thailand host a global education conference in early 2027, building on the country's role in co-hosting the GFEAI 2025 conference with UNESCO this year.

Prime Minister Anutin said cooperation with UNESCO would help strengthen Thailand's international standing and support the country's ambition to become a regional centre for cultural and technological cooperation.