Trump and Prayut with May in June

With PM Prayut of Thailand meeting PM May on 20th June just a week after POTUS Trump's visit to UK surely there are some key issues that could get lost in translation in UK.

Not just UK in its traditional role as a safe haven for ASEAN politicians of any shirt colour from South Vietnam to former PM Yingluck now with a 10 year UK visa for 6 months residency.

But also the Watermelon Politics of East Kent - green on the outside and red on the inside - gain momentum as Kent conservatism veers into stagnation:

* UK new ivory and wildlife polices - and impact on Thailand tourism (UK's 1M visitors the largest non-Asian group) whether Surin elephants or buffalo and tigers
* Expanding Thai and UK tourism: each c.35M visitors and Thai tourists 3rd highest UK spenders after Gulf tourists
* Isaan silk - too long a stranger to fashionistas and UK high st even with the sterling efforts of Jim Thompson - Victoria Beckham with David Beckham football and fashion ambassador and Ramsgate’s Vivienne Westwood and Tracey Emin leading?
* Thailand PM Trade Envoy gap
* UK and Thai rail support: the rail link to Phnom Penh open by Xmas and then HCMC - expansion of Newcastle University's rail and STEM engineering links with Kasetsart University
* ASEAN colonial era architecture preservation eg BKK customs house, HCMC Basson, PP French buildings, Margate and Thailand 1619
* Arts: beyond archives and warehouse storage – the revamped BKK Cultural Centre?
* Thai Hispeed rail given the success of Kent HS1 (HiSpeed1): double track and links throughout Thailand - and stalled Malay-Singapore route and HS2/HS3
* Trump Davos 15 Friends: EU companies eg Siemens, Krupp, ABB etc
* Bridge on the River Kwai: UNESCO heritage site plans (and other Thai Sites) and upgraded new rail through to Myanamr
* Airbase Heroin: expansion of heroin and crystal meth laboratories in Myanmar into Thailand and Bangladesh: 10% of heroin on UK streets from Shan - the rest from Helmand
* Kent Police International Division: UK tourists and expats assistance - ASEAN 112 and UK Tourist Police contact numbers - Koh Tao deaths/links
* Deep South terrorism and UK-Northern Ireland and Commonwealth Malaysia learnings
* Commonwealth Canopy: Johnny Appleseed expansion for trees - 10 trees per person per year?
* Thailand-UK seed bank: Kew Gardens and Norway
* EU fishing rules and Liverpool's Thai John West support
* Resilience: Royal Navy and Chinooks cargo helicopters in monsoon
* Interpol Reed Notice after Bill Browder Red Notice in Spain - Red Bull copkiller
* Thailand banks and City and UK eg SCB given Metro first new bank in UK since 1840
* East Kent Discovery Park 5k lost jobs: STEM vaccines: TB, Flu etc - Rabies and Measles: Pfizer UK and Thailand
* ASEAN Malaria: nets production
* UK Space Agency: satellites and parts
* UK auto industry: spare parts/EV, Zafira fires regear early warnings - and OBOR
* EK Buddhist temple and Canterbury Cathedral UNESCO: Thai sites
* UK death penalty and Caribbean: Thai learnings
* EU GI: Geographical Indication products: Kampot KH pepper, Lao and Khmer silk, Thai chillies
* Thai agriproducts - pineapple, OTOP, Kitchen of the World: 15k Thai restaurants in UK a nd largest Thai supermarket in Cardiff
* UK top ten/hundred universities and Thai links - 8k students to 20k as Malaysian UK students and 2 campuses
* ASEAN Studies Depts and 130 UK universities - languages
* UK-Thai trade: still down 30% from SSI Redcar steel closure - Nissan Newcastle and Hitachi Kent UK and Thailand
* UK bus contracts: Malay contract buses held at BKK port?
* Road Safety: Thailand worst in world after Libya and UK best: 30k deaths vs. 2k
* Team Thailand Europe and UK cooperation beyond Brexit
* Thai support: UK wifi and 5G eg True/AIS
* UK-Thai Sports Diplomacy: UK football, Asian Games. Olympics and World Cup 2030's
* UK-Thai museum links eg Royal Road to Angkor and LIDAR ground-radar temple surveys
* MAG/HALO and Royal Engineers: landmines clearance - Cambodia and Laos borders
* UK-Thai media links: television channels and Open University and MOOC languages
* Plastic cleanup: Mekong and Pacific and Atlantic plastic patches - navies
* Mabey bridges: rural development- Charter Referendum Isan, North and Deep South, Resilience and Commonwealth
* Wellington airport: Manston and Infratil (NZ/Australia) crimes
* UN Peacekeeping: UK/Thailand/Eire military and trade coordination eg Sahel and Papua
* East Timor ASEAN membership and EU links with Portugal
* Tampons and condoms - eg Markle charities/Condoms and Cabbages and manufacturing
* Pandemic alerts: ASEAN and UK eg Bird Flu, airports, hospitals links

Time for Change
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