Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has suggested to business leaders in the United States that it is the right time for them to invest in or expand their investments in Thailand, as he pledged full cooperation, according to Government spokesman Chai Wacharonke.
Addressing attendees at the APEC-CEO Summit 2023, at the Moscone Centre in San Francisco yesterday, the prime minister said that Thailand is politically stable and that the government has been implementing economic policies to stimulate growth, sustainability and competitiveness.
He described APEC as a powerful forum for growth, with its member countries being home to a third of the world’s population who generate half of the world’s trade volume, adding that, in the past several years, APEC has succeeded in lifting millions of people out of poverty through openness in trade and investment.
The prime minister highlighted sustainability, technology, innovations, trade and investment as key areas of economic cooperation.
On sustainability, he mentioned the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG), which was introduced by Thailand in 2021, adopted at the APEC Summit in Bangkok last November and continued at the APEC Summit this year in the United States. He said he is encouraged that the National Centre for APEC has agreed to hold a Sustainable Future Forum for the first time.
On technology and innovation, the prime minister told the conference that the Thai government plans to introduce blockchain technology for the “digital wallet” scheme which, he said, will not only stimulate the Thai economy, but will also improve the digital technology skills of Thai people.
The Thai government, according to the prime minister, also aims to migrate to digital government in the long run, to improve the effectiveness of public services with the help of technology, and welcomes foreign investment in digital technology.
On trade and investment, the prime minister stressed the importance of maintaining a flexible supply chain, to cope with changes which may occur in the future, and the importance of improving physical connectivity and investment in infrastructure, such as the land bridge mega project in southern Thailand to facilitate the movement of cargo between the Indian and the Pacific oceans, bypassing the Straits of Malacca, which will transform Thailand into a logistics hub in Southeast Asia.
