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HONG KONG — Thailand's prime minister said his country is getting "back to business" after months of political and economic turmoil that has felled Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva met with investors, business leaders and officials in Hong Kong on Friday to offer assurances about Thailand's stability after violent protests rattled the international community.
"Behind the pictures that you see on the news and on the television and beyond the headlines, Thailand continues to get back to business," Abhisit told reporters at Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club.
The government, he said, is carrying out measures to help the economy weather the global downturn, and resolving the nation's worst political crisis in years through a reconciliation process handled by Parliament.
Thailand has been riven by civil unrest since the ouster of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power. Political demonstrators have shut down Bangkok's airports and clashed in the capital's streets in recent months, hurting tourism at a time when the country can least afford it.
The country's economy, hit by slumping overseas demand for its exports and other effects of the financial crisis, is widely seen as contracting in the first quarter of this year.
Last month, protesters seeking Abhisit's resignation forced the cancellation of an Asian leaders' summit after they stormed a hotel in the seaside resort of Pattaya where meetings were to be held. Some visiting leaders fled by helicopter.
Abhisit, trying to allay worries about upcoming summits, said an international meeting hosted in Thailand last week went smoothly. He said a new postponement this week of the Asian summit was due to scheduling conflicts.
"We are ready and can host a meeting of that kind," he said.
Asked about Thailand's revered king, Abhisit said the 81-year-old monarch is in "good health" and "well aware" of the country's situation.
Abhisit also reiterated the government's stance that Thaksin, who went into exile to escape corruption cases facing him at home, should be held accountable.
"He can expect justice in Thailand, and he must accept the consequences of his actions," Abhisit said. "We will not discriminate against him, but we cannot discriminate for him."
