The cabinet meeting on Thursday 25, November has come to the following decision:
The Cabinet :
1. acknowledged the report on the result of the operation under 2008 Internal Security Act, from December 1, 2009, to November 30, 2010 (in Songkla’s Jana District, Natawee District, Taepa District, and Sabhayoi District), as proposed by the Internal Security Operantion Command (ISOC).
2. approved in principle the following.
2.1. draft of the announcement regarding incident affecting internal security.
2.2. draft of the announcement appointing law enforcement officers as officials carrying out the duties required by the 2008 Internal Security Act.
2.3. 3 drafts of the requirement issued under article 18 of the 2008 Internal Security Act (extension of the declaration of area posing threat to internal security in Songkla’s Jana District, Natawee District, Taepa District, and Sabhayoi District, from December 1, 2009, to November 30, 2010), as proposed by the ISOC, and the drafts have been forwarded as urgent items to the Office of the Council of State for verification in order to proceed.
3. assigned relevant agencies to compile and send report to ISOC, which is to forward to the Prime Minister, after the the situation is resolved. The Prime Minister is to, then, report to the House of Representatives and the Senate as soon as possible, in accordance with article 15 paragraph 2 of the 2008 Internal Security Act.
The Cabinet approved the following proposals in accordance with the opinion of the Budget Bureau.
1. The Cabinet approved in principle the framework for 2011-2013 reform projects, with budget limit of 565,470,000 Baht for National Reform Committee and National Reform Assembly to operate under the 2010 regulation of the Ministry of the Prime Minister’s Office.
2. The Cabinet approved in principle budget cap at 187,470,000 Baht for expenses to be settled by the 2011 central budget for emergency and necessary expenses. It should be noted that the National Health Commission of Thailand has made an agreement on detail of the expenses with the Budget Bureau, according to necessity, appropriateness, and economics.
3. In respect to the operation from Fiscal Year 2012 to 2013, the Cabinet sees it is fitting that the National Health Commission of Thailand propose a request for budget annually in sync with annual operation plan.
The Cabinet acknowledged and approved the 4 following proposals from the Ministry of Finance.
1. The Cabinet acknowledged the balance of the borrowing cap for the 2009 Royal Decree granting the Ministry of Finance the authority to borrow to stabilise and secure the country’s economic stability, which currently stands at 4,148.68 million Baht.
2. The Cabinet approved Thailand International Creative Economy Forum (TICEF) organised by the Department of Intellectual Property, under the Ministry of Commerce’s plan for “Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength 2012.” The Cabinet also approved the allocation of budget worth 12.18 million Baht from the 2009 Royal Decree for the organisation of Thailand International Creative Economy Forum (TICEF) by the Department of Intellectual Property, the Ministry of Commerce. In an event that any project is subject to procedure or regulation, the agency overseeing the project is responsible for strictly complying with the protocol. Also, for the remaining balance Baht from the budget allocated to the Department of Intellectual Property for Fiscal Year 2011 and the budget for other expenses under the creative economy project, worth 77.29 million Baht, the department has been assigned to make an agreement with the Budget Bureau on the detail and benchmark as required by the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Act.
3. The Cabinet approved the extension for the signing of contract. If the responsible agency cannot proceed within deadline, the Cabinet sees it is fitting to cancel the project and the allocated budget, taking it back for other expenses.
4. The Cabinet approved the change in detail for the projects under “Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength 2012” and the allocation of additional budget worth 271,985.06 Baht for the irrigation project, overseen by the Royal Irrigation Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
The Cabinet acknowledged the report on the progress made by the relief coordination centre for those affected by disturbances from March 12, 2010, onwards, as proposed by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.
Synopsis
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security reported that, because of the Cabinet resolution made on April 20, 2010, the ministry has helped those affected by disturbances, by category.
1. Immediate relief by registration: from March 12, 2010 to October 15, 2010, there are 1,871 registered, and 1,820 of these have had their documents and evidences verified and have been compensated, by 107,003,209 Baht in total. The following is the detail for compensation.
1.1. Minor injury: 1,104 cases, compensated by 20,380,000 Baht in total.
1.2. Injury: 610 cases, compensated by 36,600,000 Baht in total.
1.3. Serious injury: 87 cases, compensated by 8,700,000 Baht in total.
1.4. Resulted in disability: 13 cases, compensated by 2,900,000 Baht in total.
1.5. Death: 95 cases, compensated by 38,000,000 Baht in total.
1.6. Special medical care: 1 cases, compensated by 423,209 Baht.
2. Relief for those disabled and surviving relatives of those who lost their lives would be continuous, with 13 of those disabled and 58 children of those who lose their lives and 13 children of those disabled entitled for 709,000 Baht in total.
3. As for the relief for those affected by the explosion at Samarn Metta Mansion, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has helped the families of three people who lost their lives with 1.2 million Baht and the person who was injured with 60,000 Baht, or in total 1.26 million Baht.
The Cabinet acknowledged the report on the Deputy Minister of Commerce’s (Mr Alongkorn Pollabut) official visit to the People’s Republic of China to attend the conference on the management of wholesale businesses, from October 10 to 12, 2010, as porposed by the Ministry of Commerce.
Background
1. Study on the trade channels at Yiwu City, Zhe Jiang Yiwu City is a city known for large wholesale market, known as Yiwu Market, where all knids of goods from all over the country and from international markets are available. Yiwu Market is the largest market in China and is commended by The United Nations and the World Bank as the world’s largest wholesale market, with 4 million square metres in total area. 4 buildings house more than 62,000 wholesale shops and offer more 1.7 million goods from markets with specialisation. Most of the goods, about 60%, such as, coffee machine, tea, china, and appliances, use domestic raw materials source and are manufactured in Zhe Jiang. The other 40% of the goods come from nearby provinces. For example, clocks are from Fujian while leather goods are from Guangzhou.
2. Negotiation and Meeting with Business Executives and Entrepreneurs Deputy Minister of Commerce and delegates were welcomed by Deputy Mayor of Yiwu Mr Ji Jin Pu, director of international trade office Mr Lou Zhang Neng and deputy director Mr Yao Xian Ming. The Deputy Minister of Commerce and delegates held meeting with business executives from Shanghai and Yiwu, discussing the following issues.
1) The expansion of Thai agricultural market in Yiwu with dried long gan and other processed agricultural products can be done by brand building, showing that products from Thailand that are popular amongst Chinese consumers are of high quality. Agricultural imports from Thailand that participated in the exhibition and were on sale at Yiwu Market offer a good opportunity for the expansion of trade channels. The executives of the Yiwu Market has allocated space for trial sale for 6 months, free of charge. The Deputy Minister of Commerce has assigned the Thai Trade Centre in Xiamen to come up with a plan to expand the market for processed agricultural products in Yiwu Market in order to build a cooperation and to promote Thai products.
2) Facilitation for Chinese investors investing in Thailand via trade connection between Yiwu and Thailand is restricted by long-term visa issue, work permit in Thailand, and the lack of tax incentives. The Deputy Minister of Commerce has clarified investment privileges for investing in Thailand and has built confidence in the bilateral relation and its trade cooperation that is to be promoted and strengthened continuously.
Opinion
Yiwu Market is a successful large wholesale market where products all over the country from different zone of specialisation are available. It is an attractive market for for both domestic and international businesses. It also attracts a lot of tourists and can be modeled for universal wholesale market promotion in Thailand.
- It can be a trade and distribution centre for local products from different region known for unique specialisation of Thailand, with a potential to be ASEAN trade centre.
- It can attract tourists from all over the world, who want to travel and shop in Thailand.
--Cabinet Meeting (Abhisit Vejjajiva) November 25, 2010--