PM Yingluck took the opportunity to reaffirm Thailand’s political stability and strong economic dynamism, and emphasized Thailand’s national development strategies which aim to increase the country’s potential and sustainable growth through investments in infrastructure development, such as water management project, high-speed train project, and connectivity with the neighboring countries. These investment projects would accommodate New Zealand’s trade and investment opportunities in Thailand, as well as expansion of Thai trade and investment in New Zealand. On the occasion of her visit, PM Yingluck was accompanied by the Thai business delegation of potential areas such as food, agricultural products, tourism, and science and technology, for their connection and cooperation with the New Zealand private sectors.
During the discussion, the two leaders expressed their intent to promote and develop relations and cooperation in various areas. Both agreed to continue with Thailand-New Zealand’s cooperation on military and security, which is operated under Thailand-New Zealand Bilateral Defense Talks mechanism. New Zealand has supported Thailand via Mutual Assistance Programme (MAP) since 1978 and agreed to continue its support. Furthermore, New Zealand also agreed to expand cooperation on anti-transnational crime and to develop mutual police cooperation and cooperation on human resources capacity building, particularly in the field of forensic science on which New Zealand has expertise. On economic and trade cooperation, Thailand and Zealand’s mutual trade promotion has been successful largely due to the mechanism of Closer Economic Partnership (CEP). Ever since the CEP implementation in 2005, trade value between Thailand and New Zealand has increased by 3 times, and obligations in various fields have been progressed significantly.
However, trade value between the two countries could see further increase to 2,500 USD within the next 5 years. Thailand and New Zealand agreed to seek new cooperation through the review of Special Safeguard Measures (SSG), Special Agricultural Safeguards, and the lessening of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPSS). At present, Thailand is already able to export salmon products to New Zealand. In addition, Thailand and New Zealand will encourage their private sectors to seek economic opportunities and expand their mutual trade and investment.
Furthermore, New Zealand agreed to be the gateway to the South-Pacific region and the connecting gateway to Latin America. On cooperation in education, discussion on the importance of people-to-people connectivity was made, and both parties agreed that education is the basis of communication between the two countries. Greater number of the Thai students is interested to further their study in New Zealand. Educational institutions of both countries could play important roles in promoting educational cooperation. New Zealand has supported Thailand by granting scholarships for Thai teachers and offering English language training. On the occasion of PM Yingluck’s visit, a signing ceremony of cooperation on education, focusing on the new cooperation on vocational education, took place.
For the cooperation on development of science, innovation and technology, particularly in food security and safety and in agriculture, on which Thailand and New Zealand, as big global food producers, agreed to collaborate, Thailand might be able to learn from New Zealand’s expertise on agricultural and livestock cooperative management. Moreover, New Zealand agreed to support Thai agricultural workers who work in New Zealand with knowledge in modern agricultural management and fair treatment. This would draw more Thais to work in New Zealand’s agricultural area in the future. As for cooperation on tourism, which plays a crucial part in connecting people and creating mutual understanding between the two countries, New Zealand agreed to consider visa exemption for Thai passport holders, and Thailand is developing and upgrading quality of medical tourism to attract more New Zealander tourists.
PM Yingluck also invited the Prime Minister of New Zealand to attend the 2nd Asia–Pacific Water Summit (APWS) on May 19-20, 2013, in Chiang Mai. After the discussion, both Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of two agreements, which were draft joint declaration on Thailand-New Zealand education partnership and draft letter of intent on science and technology and innovation collaboration.