The cabinet meeting on Monday, 2 April 2012 has come to the following decision:
The cabinet approved a draft of the Royal Decree on local civil servants’ pension (no…) B.E…. according to Ministry of Interior’s proposal. After an approval process, the draft will be passed to Office of the Council of State for inspection, then to the Government’s Whip, and finally to the House of Representatives.
The cabinet approved the principle of the Royal Decree on renaming “Department of Export Promotion” to “Department of International Trade Promotion” B.E…. and the Royal Decree on organizing Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce B.E…. according to Ministry of Commerce’s proposal. Then, the two Royal Decrees will be passed to Office of the Council of State for inspection and further implementation.
Gist as follows:
1. Draft of the Royal Decree on renaming “Department of Export Promotion” to “Department of International Trade Promotion” B.E…. Gist as follows: renaming “Department of Export Promotion” to “Department of International Trade Promotion” as well as renaming civil servant’s position.
1. Director-General of Department of Export Promotion to Director-General of Department of International Trade Promotion
2. Deputy Director-General of Department of Export Promotion to Deputy Director-General of Department of International Trade Promotion
2. The Royal Decree on organizing Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce B.E… Gist as follows:
1. Terminating the Royal Decree on organizing Department of Export Promotion, Ministry of Commerce B.E. 2553 (Draft no.1)
2. Mandating Department of International Trade Promotion with promoting export-import, expanding Thai market and service business, improving and adding value of goods and service business, distributing trade information, empowering Thai exporters’ competency so that they can survive in the world market, encouraging the import of production factors and competency-added materials in order to increase the value and amount of export as well as balance of trade. As a result, all of the aforementioned methods will help strengthen Thai international trade stability. (Draft no.2)
3. Dividing Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce into 5 bureaus, 1 office, 1 center, 1 institute, and mandating all of those agencies with the assigned mandate. (Draft no.3 and from Draft no. 6 to Draft no. 13)
4. Establishing Internal Inspection Group and Management Development Group under Director-General of Department of International Trade Promotion and mandating all of those groups with the assigned mandate. (Draft no. 4 and Draft no. 5)
5. Maintaining Thai Commercial Affairs according to the Royal Decree on organizing Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce B.E. 2553 until there is an amendment in the Royal Decree. (Draft no. 14)
The cabinet acknowledged and approved State Railway of Thailand’s request for loan worth 74,679.770 million Baht according to the Royal Decree on State Railway of Thailand B.E. 2474 article 39 (4) proposed by Ministry of Transport. In this regard, Ministry of Transport guarantees the loan request, studies the loan direction, condition, and detail. Ministry of Transport is also exempt from guarantee fee both in the part of State Railway of Thailand’s responsibility and the government’s responsibility.
The cabinet acknowledged result of a joint meeting between Bureau of the Budget and Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board concerning relief effort to flood-affected, storm-affected, and landslide-affected farmers residing in the Southern part of Thailand in 2011 and 2012 according to Bureau of the Budget’s and Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board’s proposals.
1. Approving an expansion of time for relief effort 2011 to flood-affected farmer as a special case following criteria and direction stated in the cabinet resolutions on August 24, 2011, September 6, 2011, and December 13, 2011. The relief effort is expanded to cover flood-affected, storm-affected, and landslide-affected farmers residing in the Southern part of Thailand, entering into force from November 1 to the end of March, 2012. The aforementioned relief effort aims at helping farmers who reside in the Southern part to recover from natural disaster in the same way farmers in other regions were helped. Moreover, the relief effort also aims at avoiding the inequality of relief effort deployment.
2. Approving budget for relief effort to flood-affected farmers worth 2,659,972 million Baht. This amount of budget is subtracted from annual budget 2555: central government budget: integrated flood recovery, rehabilitation, and prevention budget. In this regard, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives takes responsible for distributing the budget for the following sectors: plantation, fisheries, and livestock.
3. Approving relief effort to in-season farmers residing in the Southern part 2011/12 whose products were damaged by the flood. The effort lasts from November 1 to the end of March, 2012 under the rate of 1,437 Baht per ton worth 221,237 million Baht which is the same rate for relieving farmers residing in other regions according to the cabinet resolution on September 27, 2011 and February 28, 2012. Therefore, the effort covers flood-victim farmers in the South. In this regard, farmers must present registration form and are deprived of the right to join In-Season Rice Mortgage 2011/12 in order to avoid redundancy and promote transparency. Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives takes responsible for granting those farmers in advance and gets refund from annual fiscal budget set by Bureau of the Budget.
The cabinet approved draft documents to be endorsed in the 20th ASEAN Summit according to a proposal from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ministry of Foreign Affairs is free to amend any sections which are not important or contradicting Thailand’s national interest without the cabinet’s consideration. The Prime Minister or representative is assigned to endorse the aforementioned documents.
--Cabinet Meeting (Yingluck Shinawatra) April 2, 2012--