Bangkok--May 12--MFA
Remarks by His Excellency Mr. Noppadon Pattama,Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, at a Luncheon hosted by the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee, Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Tokyo, 9 May 2008 at 12.00 hrs.
Remarks
by
His Excellency Mr. Noppadon Pattama,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand,
at a Luncheon hosted by
the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation),
Tokyo, 9 May 2008 at 12.00 hrs.
Minasan konnichiwa,
Mr. Uichiro Niwa, Chairman of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Members of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your kind words of welcome. I only wish I could make my reply in Japanese! So let me just say the only Japanese word I know: domo arigato gozaimashita.
Let me thank Niwa-san and all of you for the wonderful hospitality and the warm friendship given to me and my delegation. I am delighted to be in Tokyo.
A few weeks ago, my colleague, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Surapong Suebwonglee, was also here. So you know the Thai Government’s commitment to an open, market-oriented economy and our policies to enhance business- and investors-friendly environment. You know that Thailand has vast potentials —the place to do business. So I need not repeat all that.
But I wish to assure you that despite reports of political differences in Thailand, it is quite normal for a democratic society. Thailand is politically stable, so is our Government. We are ready to work with you and to broaden and deepen the Thai-Japanese economic partnership.
Since 1997, Japanese investment in Thailand has surged 106.6% and bilateral trade expanded by 85.2%. Our economic partnership has been solidified. The Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, or JTEPA, entered into force last November. And you contributed so much to its successful conclusion.
For the first three months after the Agreement took effect, Thailand’s exports to Japan, worth 4.7 billion US dollars, was a 12.11% increase from the same period a year earlier. About 20% of this was done under the new EPA scheme. Some 41,000 JTEPA Certificates of Origin were issued by the end of March. And that’s only on the Thai side.
I am impressed with how JTEPA has fared. With this trend, JTEPA promises enormous potentials for mutual benefit.
Recently, Prime Minister Samak Sudaravej appointed me Chairman of Thailand’s JTEPA Steering Committee to oversee all aspects of our economic partnership. Within the next couple of weeks, some twenty sub-working groups will be set up to support dialogue with respective Japanese counterparts. We plan to convene no less than six bilateral Sub-Committee meetings this year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a lot of homework to do. We will work hard. And I look forward to your continued full cooperation to keep the momentum going.
As part of the efforts to facilitate foreign and Thai businesses, the Thai Foreign Ministry plans to launch a Business Information Center at every Thai Embassy. These Centers will provide accurate and complete up-to-date information needed to make business decisions and undertake business operations.
The Royal Thai Embassy here has set up a website called “thaiceotokyo.jp” which provides very useful information. And I wish to commend Ambassador Suvidhya and his staff for their efforts.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Thai-Japanese partnership spans beyond the bilateral context.
One of Thailand’s foreign policy priorities is engagement with our neighbours — the CLMV — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Through this policy, we hope to create economic and development opportunities through more trade, investment and other cooperation. We wish to work with Japan in these endeavours.
I am delighted to learn that the Japanese private sector is keen to cooperate with Thailand to invest in infrastructure projects in the CLMV.
I am also encouraged that the Japanese Government has made an initiative in promoting Japan-CLMV cooperation. This should broaden opportunities for the Japanese business sector to play more roles — to be a part of our regional development — to turn our region’s potentials into mutual benefits.
So, take advantage of your strong link with Thailand as base for your regional presence.
Make Thailand your second home outside Japan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Japan and Thailand can do much more together, building upon our comprehensive partnership and the one hundred and twenty years of friendship that we celebrated last year. Let us explore further.
Let me conclude my remarks here. Let me, once again, thank the distinguished members of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee for hosting this lunch.
I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
Again, Domo arigato gozaimashita.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-
Remarks by His Excellency Mr. Noppadon Pattama,Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, at a Luncheon hosted by the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee, Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), Tokyo, 9 May 2008 at 12.00 hrs.
Remarks
by
His Excellency Mr. Noppadon Pattama,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand,
at a Luncheon hosted by
the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation),
Tokyo, 9 May 2008 at 12.00 hrs.
Minasan konnichiwa,
Mr. Uichiro Niwa, Chairman of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Members of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your kind words of welcome. I only wish I could make my reply in Japanese! So let me just say the only Japanese word I know: domo arigato gozaimashita.
Let me thank Niwa-san and all of you for the wonderful hospitality and the warm friendship given to me and my delegation. I am delighted to be in Tokyo.
A few weeks ago, my colleague, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Surapong Suebwonglee, was also here. So you know the Thai Government’s commitment to an open, market-oriented economy and our policies to enhance business- and investors-friendly environment. You know that Thailand has vast potentials —the place to do business. So I need not repeat all that.
But I wish to assure you that despite reports of political differences in Thailand, it is quite normal for a democratic society. Thailand is politically stable, so is our Government. We are ready to work with you and to broaden and deepen the Thai-Japanese economic partnership.
Since 1997, Japanese investment in Thailand has surged 106.6% and bilateral trade expanded by 85.2%. Our economic partnership has been solidified. The Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, or JTEPA, entered into force last November. And you contributed so much to its successful conclusion.
For the first three months after the Agreement took effect, Thailand’s exports to Japan, worth 4.7 billion US dollars, was a 12.11% increase from the same period a year earlier. About 20% of this was done under the new EPA scheme. Some 41,000 JTEPA Certificates of Origin were issued by the end of March. And that’s only on the Thai side.
I am impressed with how JTEPA has fared. With this trend, JTEPA promises enormous potentials for mutual benefit.
Recently, Prime Minister Samak Sudaravej appointed me Chairman of Thailand’s JTEPA Steering Committee to oversee all aspects of our economic partnership. Within the next couple of weeks, some twenty sub-working groups will be set up to support dialogue with respective Japanese counterparts. We plan to convene no less than six bilateral Sub-Committee meetings this year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a lot of homework to do. We will work hard. And I look forward to your continued full cooperation to keep the momentum going.
As part of the efforts to facilitate foreign and Thai businesses, the Thai Foreign Ministry plans to launch a Business Information Center at every Thai Embassy. These Centers will provide accurate and complete up-to-date information needed to make business decisions and undertake business operations.
The Royal Thai Embassy here has set up a website called “thaiceotokyo.jp” which provides very useful information. And I wish to commend Ambassador Suvidhya and his staff for their efforts.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Thai-Japanese partnership spans beyond the bilateral context.
One of Thailand’s foreign policy priorities is engagement with our neighbours — the CLMV — Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Through this policy, we hope to create economic and development opportunities through more trade, investment and other cooperation. We wish to work with Japan in these endeavours.
I am delighted to learn that the Japanese private sector is keen to cooperate with Thailand to invest in infrastructure projects in the CLMV.
I am also encouraged that the Japanese Government has made an initiative in promoting Japan-CLMV cooperation. This should broaden opportunities for the Japanese business sector to play more roles — to be a part of our regional development — to turn our region’s potentials into mutual benefits.
So, take advantage of your strong link with Thailand as base for your regional presence.
Make Thailand your second home outside Japan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Japan and Thailand can do much more together, building upon our comprehensive partnership and the one hundred and twenty years of friendship that we celebrated last year. Let us explore further.
Let me conclude my remarks here. Let me, once again, thank the distinguished members of the Japan-Thailand Economic and Trade Committee for hosting this lunch.
I will be happy to hear your thoughts.
Again, Domo arigato gozaimashita.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
Fax. (02) 643-5169 E-mail : div0704@mfa.go.th End.
-PM-