
Thai tycoon Sarath meets Trump, eyes stronger US ties
The event, held at Lusail Palace, was part of Trump's official Middle East visit, with Qatar being the second stop on his tour.
The reception was hosted by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Hamad Al-Thani and attended by members of the royal family, the Qatari Prime Minister, and cabinet ministers.
It also welcomed prominent US officials and business leaders, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Executives and investors from across Asia, including India and Thailand, also took part.
Sarath Ratanavadi was notably the sole Thai invitee at the event.
Speaking after the reception, Sarath stated, 'I had the opportunity to engage directly with President Trump and several US cabinet members. The discussions reflected a positive tone regarding US-Thailand relations, particularly in the area of investment. The US expressed openness to increased Thai investment, especially in the energy sector, where Gulf already has ongoing operations.'
The meeting highlighted growing interest in strengthening US-Asia investment ties, particularly in the context of shifting global energy dynamics and economic diversification strategies. - The Nation/ANN
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
FEMA to require states use terrorism prevention funds for migrant arrests
A resident enters a FEMA's improvised station to attend claims by local residents affected by floods following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Marion, North Carolina, U.S., October 5, 2024. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Emergency Management Agency will require states to spend part of their federal terrorism prevention funds on helping the Trump administration arrest migrants, as part of the U.S. president's transformation of the agency. This is latest example of the Trump administration tying its goal to arrest migrants to federal funding for states. States must spend at least 10% of their funds from the Homeland Security Grant Program on enforcing immigration laws 'against all inadmissible and removable aliens,' according to an agency announcement. They can use it for tasks that support President Donald Trump's executive order on immigration, including to construct detention facilities or set up partnerships between police officers and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the post. States have until Aug. 11 to apply for their portion of $373.3 million, according to the post. Congress established the Homeland Security Grant Program before Trump took office to help states prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks. All 50 states receive the funds annually. In the past, they have used the money to buy security cameras, firefighting foam equipment and computers, among other needs, according to statements from state officials. Reuters asked the White House press office whether Congress intended the funds be spent on migrant arrests. The office referred Reuters to FEMA. (Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

Barnama
3 hours ago
- Barnama
Malaysia's Real GDP Growth Forecast Raised To 4.5 Pct In 2025, 4.0 Pct In 2026 -- IMF
BUSINESS KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 (Bernama) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its forecast for Malaysia's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4.5 per cent in 2025 and 4.0 per cent in 2026. In its July 2025 World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released today, titled 'Global Economy: Tenuous Resilience amid Persistent Uncertainty', the IMF said the forecast for 2025 is 0.4 percentage point higher than in the reference forecast of the April 2025 WEO and 0.2 percentage point higher for 2026. Meanwhile, the IMF said that in the emerging market and developing economies, growth is expected to be 4.1 per cent in 2025 and 4.0 per cent in 2026. 'Relative to the forecast in April, growth in 2025 for China is revised upward by 0.8 percentage point to 4.8 per cent. This revision reflects stronger-than-expected activity in the first half of 2025 and the significant reduction in US-China tariffs,' it said. Additionally, it said China's growth in 2026 is also revised upward by 0.2 percentage point to 4.2 per cent, again reflecting the lower effective tariff rates. 'In India, growth is projected to be 6.4 per cent in 2025 and 2026, with both numbers revised slightly upward, reflecting a more benign external environment than assumed in the April reference forecast,' it said. The IMF highlighted that despite global uncertainties, countries should reduce policy-induced uncertainty by promoting clear and transparent trade frameworks. 'Pragmatic cooperation is paramount in instances in which some rules of the international trading system, in their current form, may not be functioning as intended. 'This entails the pursuit of multilateral initiatives on the global commons and modernising trade rules where feasible, while seeking plurilateral or regional solutions on other matters,' it said.


New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
NST Leader: 'AI is too important not to regulate'
TECH titans have finally got what they were clambering for: a free pass to artificial intelligence (AI) development, thanks to United States President Donald Trump's AI Action Plan unveiled on Wednesday in Washington, at a tech summit attended by the elites of the industry. Calling it "Winning the AI Race", he said his action plan is designed to put the US ahead of other nations. "America must once again be a country where innovators are rewarded with green light, not strangled with red tape", the media quoted him as saying. There is only one way to read Trump's "green light" message: whatever regulations that stand in the way of AI "innovation" will be removed. First to go will be whatever that remains of the former administration's regulations. Is this the right path to take on AI? While tech titans will say yes, there are others who say no because AI comes with so many unknowns. Not even the AI entrepreneurs know where the technology is taking us. Certainly, AI has promises of benefits, but they come clothed with known and unknown risks. Alphabet and Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai writing an opinion piece in the Financial Times on May 23, 2023 said that "AI is too important not to regulate and too important to regulate well", meaning regulating in a way that balances innovation and potential harms. But a race to be first will certainly not strike the right balance. Google's promise is to develop AI responsibly, but when the profit chase becomes hot would the pledge still hold? Pichai must know AI is fast becoming a crowded space, with every company racing to shape the technology according to its business needs. In other words, profit before people and planet. Our bad old free market economic model — the myth that markets perform best when they are free of regulations — has followed us into the digital world. Myth-busting economist Ha-Joon Chang has made it crystal clear that the free market doesn't exist anywhere in the world. With this "free-to-choose" mindset, nothing can be developed responsibly, let alone AI. We have long been witnesses of irresponsible capitalism, at times victims even. Hence the call for "compassionate capitalism", a sign that the free-to-choose market model has hit the lowest of low. Innovative AI development is only possible in a regulation-free space is a similar myth by another name. This is why the European Union has opted for the AI Act, one of whose aims is to make the technology "work for people and is a force for good in society". It came into effect on Aug 1 last year, claiming the honour of being the first-ever legislation to address the risks of AI. Whether or not such a goal is enforced is a question of political will, not the fault of the law. The EU model isn't the only way to tame AI. A better approach is a global AI treaty. But this will only work in a rules-based world order. Ours isn't. The Paris Treaty on climate change is in a bit of a shambles. So are the Rome Statute and the Law of the Sea. Regional or national approach may be inevitable.