Thailand’s newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Anuthin Chanvirakul on 10 August presided over the opening ceremony of the 2019 International Dragon Award (IDA) Annual Congress, which the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) won the host country status for the event in 2017, under its ‘Bid Win’ mission.

Deputy PM Anuthin in his opening speech conveyed his appreciation to IDA executives and all delegates for choosing Thailand as the host destination. He also wished the event a great success, saying that all Thai people are ready to be a good host.

“As the Deputy Prime Minister who oversees TCEB, I am ready to continue to create business opportunities in 12 key industries under the Thailand 4.0 economic model. This includes extending support for TCEB to attract the world’s most iconic events to the Kingdom, and to promote MICE as a strategy to develop local economies, distribute income and promote local industries and businesses. The goal is to maintain Thailand’s position as the No 1 in ASEAN and among the Top 5 in Asia.”

The 2019 IDA Annual Congress, being held from 10 to 13 August 2019 at IMPACT Muang Thong Thani in Bangkok, is the largest ever Chinese convention to be organised in the Kingdom. The event was attended by 7,500 delegates and 300 senior executives from 17 countries, in addition to over 200 leading financial services and insurance institutions. The event also presented the ‘Dragon Award’ for top insurance companies.