BANGKOK: Thailand’s election-winning Move Forward party will let alliance partner, the Pheu Thai party, lead the formation of a government after its prime ministerial candidate failed to get parliament’s backing, a senior official said on Friday.
Party secretary Chaithawat Tulathon told a press conference that Move Forward would back any candidate Pheu Thai would put forward for prime minister in a parliamentary vote scheduled for on July 27.
The eight-party alliance had backed Move Forward’s 42-year-old leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the premiership but he failed to win the support of the bicameral parliament on July 13 and his re-nomination six days later was blocked by lawmakers.
Move Forward and Pheu Thai have 151 and 141 seats in 500-member lower house, respectively, but the alliance needs the backing of more than half of the combined chambers, including an upper house Senate appointed by the military, which blocked Pita’s bid.
The liberal Move Forward won the May elections, crushing its conservative opponents in a clear public rejection of nearly nine years of military-backed governments.
Its progressive policies like ending business monopolies and amending the country’s controversial royal insults law challenged the country’s powerful royalist military and old money elites.
Thailand’s Move Forward makes way for Pheu Thai to form next government
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Thailand’s Move Forward makes way for Pheu Thai to form next government
- The eight-party alliance had backed Move Forward’s 42-year-old leader Pita Limjaroenrat for the premiership
- But he failed to win the support of the bicameral parliament on July 13 and his re-nomination six days later was blocked by lawmakers
Indonesia eyes investment boost from UAE after leaders’ meeting
- Indonesia-UAE trade was worth $6.4b in 2025, up from $5b in 2024
- President Prabowo Subianto, MBZ also discussed increasing cooperation in renewable energy, tech, AI
JAKARTA: Indonesia is expecting more investments from the UAE, the Indonesian government said on Friday following talks between President Prabowo Subianto and his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
Indonesia’s relations with the UAE grew under former President Joko Widodo, who in 2021 secured more than $46 billion investment commitment from the Gulf state.
Subianto visited Abu Dhabi earlier this week accompanied by Foreign Minister Sugiono, and Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia on a trip aimed at strengthening cooperation under the Indonesia-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
“The meeting discussed cooperation to increase investment (and) strengthen bilateral cooperation. The UAE wants to increase its investment in Indonesia,” Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said in a statement, without disclosing any amount.
Indonesia and the UAE signed the free trade deal in 2022, which came into force a year later. It was Jakarta’s first with a Gulf country and Abu Dhabi’s first with a Southeast Asian nation.
The Indonesia-UAE CEPA erases about 99 percent of existing tariffs and includes commitments to increase Indonesia’s services exports to the UAE by 6 percent while mutually recognizing each country’s halal certification.
Commerce between the two countries has seen a boost since then, with bilateral trade reaching more than $6.4 billion in 2025, according to Indonesian Trade Ministry data, showcasing an increase of nearly 27 percent from the previous year, when it was worth around $5 billion.
The Emirati state news agency WAM said the talks in Abu Dhabi also covered ways to increase cooperation in other sectors, including renewable energy, technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability, food security and culture.
“The (UAE) president noted the continuing progress of long-standing UAE-Indonesia relations, which are founded on mutual trust, respect and shared interests,” WAM said.
“He reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to advancing its development and economic partnership with Indonesia for the benefit of both countries and their peoples.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and the UAE.
The UAE was Subianto’s last stop on a multi-nation trip, which included the US, the UK and Jordan.
