Speaking in the program “Yingluck Government Meets the People,” broadcast
on Radio Thailand and NBT Television on 24 November 2012, the Prime Minister
stressed the need for Thailand to adjust itself to a larger market, not only in
ASEAN but also elsewhere.
In the face of this situation, she said, Thai products must be diverse and
offer more options to customers, which would make them competitive. New
technology and techniques should be introduced to help in production. Although
Thailand has trade contacts with ASEAN, it must also start to see ASEAN as a
single market, which will expand trade relations with other markets, such as
China, the United States, and Australia.
Prime Minister Yingluck pointed out that, as a result of free trade,
Thailand’s trade value was on the increase and that trade liberalization came
with trade competition. To enable Thailand to compete effectively, the country
must work out rules and regulations for carrying out its international trade.
At the same time, she said, Thailand needs to compete with itself and improve its
trade negotiations based on the maximum benefit of the country. For this
reason, the Government must work with the private sector, as the country would
face tougher competition in a larger market.
The Prime Minister explained that the objective of bringing business people
to join her overseas trips was to increase Thailand’s trade and investment with
various countries. She said that the Government wanted to encourage foreign
investors to invest more in Thailand and to increase Thai exports.
Prime Minister Yingluck stated that, because of economic uncertainties in
all parts of the world, many countries are eying ASEAN and the Asian region,
which are large markets with a great number of people. Because Thailand wants
to increase its income, it needs to seek new and larger markets and create
confidence in trading and investing in Thailand.
For instance, she said, Thailand would no longer trade in a country with
only 60 million people, but would trade in ASEAN, with a population of 600
million. This means that the country will have a larger market. Therefore,
ASEAN countries would have to set trade rules and regulations jointly, as it is
moving toward a single community in 2015.
As for the Thai government, the Prime Minister said that it must prepare
infrastructure in response to the vision of connectivity. At the same time,
research and development should be undertaken to make Thai products, especially
those under the “One Tambon One Product” program, to be unique and more
outstanding than products from other places, in order to satisfy local and
foreign customers. The public sector must, therefore, join hands with other
sectors in preparing for the changing situation.
(thailand.prd.go.th)