I wish to express my appreciation to Indonesia’s initiative on convening this important Meeting.
On behalf of the Royal Thai Government, I wish to express, once again, our heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of Japan. We strongly believe that with her strong foundation and resilience Japan would quickly recover from this major disaster as shown in the past. Thailand wishes to reiterate our firm commitment in continuing our utmost efforts to assist Japan, our long-time friend and neighbor, during this difficult time. We have all the confidence in the ability of the Japanese Government and people to rise up the challenges they are facing.
Today, we are here in Jakarta to reiterate our sympathy, solidarity, and support to Japan in coping with the disaster.
We feel the pain faced by the Japanese people and share their pain. Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand and the members of the Royal Thai Family have made private donations as well as emergency survival kits from social-welfare foundations under royal patronage.
Right after the earthquake, the Thai Cabinet has approved 200 million baht (717 million yen) emergency budget to be used for humanitarian operations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand has taken a leading role in coordinating the transportation of donated supplies from the private sector and the Thai people to Japan.
As of 5 April 2011, the total donations by the Thai public and private sectors to the Thai Red Cross and major charity organisations amounted to nearly 600 million baht or around 1.6 billion yen, not including voluntary fund-raising by a number of Thai private sectors. These humanitarian responses testify heart-to-heart relations between the peoples of Thailand and Japan. We appreciate that Japan readily accepted our assistances and assistance without hesitation.
We appreciate the assistance given by the Government of Japan to all people affected by the earthquake, whether they are Japanese or foreign nationals, including providing information of their whereabouts. This also enables the Thai Government to contact and provide consular assistance to the Thai nationals living in the disaster-affected areas.
We also appreciate Japan’s policy of providing transparent information on food safety, health, radiation safety, which helps alleviate public concern.
We share views with most economists who remain confident in Japan’s capability to recover from this disaster and foresee that the impact on the global economy would be limited. We have full confidence in Japan to continue its role as a world forefront technology leader and an engine of economic growth in Asia.
In response to the expectation of Japan’s shortage in electricity as many power plants have been affected by the earthquake and tsunami, the Thai Cabinet has recently approved the lending of two gas turbines from the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for power generation, free of charge for the period of 5 years. These two gas turbines, which can generate power for approximately 240,000 households, will be transferred to Japan and is expected to start the operation in August, when electricity demand reaches its peak in summer.
Thailand takes note of the continued efforts of the Japanese Government, in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to improve the situation at Fukushima-Daiichi. We also appreciate the briefings and regular updates of the incident provided by the Japanese Government and have confidence in the assessment of the situation by the Japanese authorities.
The unfortunate incident at Fukushima-Daiichi happened despite the best efforts of the Japanese Government to ensure nuclear safety in accordance with the IAEA standards.
Thailand, therefore, supports the convening of the IAEA High-Level Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety in June 2011 to consider the lessons learned from the Fukushima incident, as well as further strengthen nuclear safety and emergency responses.
As nuclear power generation is one of the possible energy options for some ASEAN Member States, Thailand hopes that Japan would be ready to share its experience with ASEAN Member States, interested in having nuclear power plants. The effective solution of this nuclear accident with minimum impact on environment would give ASEAN and the world an assurance and hope for the peaceful use of nuclear energy in the future.
Thailand is ready to assist Japan in her reconstruction efforts. Thai and Japanese construction companies are long-time partners, and ready to work together in Japan to rebuild affected areas. On medical services, Thailand can provide high quality medical treatments that meet the need of Japanese people. As the world’s major food exporter, Thailand stands ready to ensure Japan a reliable food supply. Thailand has also earlier pledged offering 15,000 tonnes of rice to Japan. We stand ready to fulfill our pledge if Japan so request.
Under a newly established ASEAN+3 Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility (CGIF), ASEAN can work with Japan in mobilising fund in the region to support Japan’s reconstruction. The CGIF is a new initiative aimed to assist the private sector in ASEAN+3 countries in mobilising fund for investment through the issuance of local-currency denominated bonds.
As we have seen the increasing tendency of natural disasters which strike at regional and global levels, it would be beneficial for all of us to strengthen cooperation on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Management (HADR) in multilateral frameworks.
Thailand is developing with its Partners the concept of utilising the airport facilities at Utapao as a “multi-national platform” that can support or supplement, as appropriate, regional HADR operations in the event of an emergency in the region. Envisaged roles of Utapao in this regard include supporting rapid deployment in the event of an emergency, stockpiling of resources and equipment, and training of and conducting exercises involving personnel in HADR operations.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th