(As delivered)
Remarks
by
Her Excellency Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
at the Reception for the Diplomatic Corps
and Heads of International Organizations in Thailand
Santi Maitri Building, Government House, Bangkok
Friday, 9 September 2011
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Your Excellency Ambassador Peter Chan, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Distinguished Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Heads of International Organisations, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is indeed a great pleasure for me, along with my Cabinet Ministers, to welcome all of you to the Government House.
I wish to thank you for the warm words of congratulations after our success in the general elections on 3 July. Since then, I have looked forward to meeting all of you, our friends from near and far.
It is fitting that we meet today in Santi Maitri Building. The name means “peace” and “friendship”. This is what we want to achieve in the relations between Thailand and your respective countries and organizations.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My Government has already delivered its policy statement to Parliament on 23-24 August 2011.
Today, let me say simply that we are fully dedicated -- to bringing back political, economic and social stability to all Thai people, to ensuring their well-being, and to improving their quality of life.
With the support and blessing of the Thai people from the recent elections, we have a solid mandate to carry out our people-centered policies. We will see them through.
So let me share with you a few of my Government’s priorities.
First, we will expedite reconciliation, provide remedies and foster harmony in Thai society. We will work tirelessly to foster cooperation from all sides to bring back unity to our society. Without unity, we cannot hope to prosper as a nation. With unity, and this is a very important word, we can move forward together to new horizons.
Second, we will focus on attaining strong, balanced and sustainable economic growth by promoting domestic consumption, together with foreign trade and investment as a key component.We are committed to carrying out policies that will raise quality of life, extend the benefits of growth to all Thais and protect the vulnerable. This will help restore dynamism in the Thai economy. But this dynamism will also depend on our enhancing links with the global economy and with the rest of the world deepening links with us.
Third, with ASEAN becoming a Community by 2015, my Government will intensify our cooperation for such integration. We are determined to once again play an important role in the ASEAN Community. A key step is restoring trust and confidence in relations with our neighbours, a key component of our foreign policy. Another is to build greater connectivity and partnerships, within the region and beyond. We will also have to prepare all sectors of Thai society for the ASEAN Community. Here, we need to create greater awareness and encourage our people to contribute to community-building.
And fourth, on the international front, my Government pledges to do our utmost as an active and responsible member of the international community, in order to help preserve peace and promote prosperity. Thailand will deepen our commitment in international and multilateral affairs and enhance cooperation with our friends around the world. We will play our part to ensure economic resilience, by boosting economic expansion through promoting trade, investment and industrial growth.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The peace and prosperity of the international community are the common aspiration and responsibility of all of us, not any country alone. In Thailand, you will find a stronger and more vibrant partner to help attain this.
To this end, we look forward to working closely with your respective countries and organizations.
Thank you.
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