His Excellency the Minister of Commerce,
Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to welcome all of you to the fourth “Thailand’s Best Friends” Certificate Presentation Ceremony. It is a pleasure for me to be here tonight, as this provides the Thai Government with an opportunity to show our appreciation to the 105 importers from around the world. All of you have contributed so much to the success of our export industry.
As you are aware, exports have always been a key factor in driving the Thai economy, contributing to more than half of our GDP. However, during times of global economic crisis, I believe that some of you may still be concerned about the impact on the Thai export sector. So please allow me to assure you that the Government is committed to providing further support during times of crisis.
In this connection, I have just returned from the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Russia where we all agreed that we must promote trade and investment and avoid protectionist policies. This will help ensure high volume of trade as well as promote sustainable growth.
Another issue that was raised was the importance of supply chain connectivity. Thailand as a production hub in ASEAN has a key role to play on this issue.
Our plan to invest 100 billion US dollars in infrastructure development and water management systems are well underway. Once completed, they will help reduce transportation costs and protect supply chains.
Some of the highlights of these projects include the new high speed trains that will link Thailand, our neighboring countries and China. My Government is also supporting Myanmar in developing the Dawei deep seaport that will link the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand through a land bridge. These projects will help ensure that goods and products are delivered quickly and efficiently to your markets.
The food and agro industry, which is one of our key export sectors, will benefit from more efficient logistics network. This will also complement our “kitchen to the world” campaign that has been launched to provide further support for our export industry. Furthermore, this campaign will also help contribute to ensuring global food security.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Looking to the region, AEC 2015 will bring both opportunities and challenges for exports. We are supporting our industries, agriculture and services sectors to become better prepared for this single market and production base of over 600 million people. All of us will benefit from lower tariffs and an ASEAN Single Window that will further promote Thai exports.
In the long-run, as Thailand’s economy becomes more knowledge-based, low carbon and has eco-friendly creative industries, we will need to promote more innovation and R&D, and better education to have higher quality labour force.
Our goal is to provide further value added to our products that will better meet global standards, whether in health, environment or consumer satisfaction.
Finally, our policies to promote our export industry would not have been so effective without the continued support from all of you. So let me take this opportunity to thank you once again for showing confidence in Thai products and your contributions to the sustainable growth of our economy.
Your partnership is highly valued.
Thank you.