Thailand's Pita wants to put country back on U.S. and international radar

Ex-prime minister hopeful eyes comeback in next election

Pita Limjaroenrat, the former prime ministerial candidate of Thailand's Move Forward Party, visited the U.S. this week for the first time since failing to secure the leadership post. (Photo by Sompop Tatiyaratana)

KEN MORIYASU, Nikkei Asia diplomatic correspondent

November 1, 2023 10:00 JST

WASHINGTON -- "I am here to put Thailand back on the U.S. and the international radar," Pita Limjaroenrat, the former prime ministerial candidate of the Move Forward Party, said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia during his U.S. trip.

Although it is one of America's five treaty allies in the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand comes up less in strategic discussions than Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines.