During his visit to New York for the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future in Haiti, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Urmas Pest, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia on 1 April 2010. Both ministers exchanged views on how to strengthen further the Thai-Estonia relations as well as explore potential areas of cooperation such as those related to creative economy, renewable and alternative energy, education and private sectors' partnership. The Estonian Foreign Minister also extended an invitation to his Thai counterpart to visit Estonia at a mutually convenient time.
Later on the same day, the Thai Foreign Minister had a roundtable discussion with business people, academicians and civil society representative who are members of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and exchanged views on various issues including the political situation in Thailand, the situation in the Southern Border Provinces and the Thai-U.S. Relations. Among others, Foreign Minister Kasit informed the audience of the Thai government's economic and social policies. He also assured them that the Thai economy has been well on the path of recovery since last year, with low unemployment rate, rising consumption and increasing foreign direct investment coming in during the past year, reflecting the confidence that the international community has in Thailand's strong economic fundamentals. For 2010, he noted, the Thai economy is projected to grow by about 4.5%. Foreign Minister Kasit also underscored the government's efforts in promoting human security for the Thai people through implementation of welfare oriented policies and measures, such as the 15-year free education programme, the monthly allowance for the elderly, the expansion of the health insurance schemes to cover all groups of people, and the income guarantee scheme for farmers. He also elaborated on the government's plan under the second stimulus package to invest in infrastructure development, as well as in improvement of the public health and education systems, which would enhance Thailand's competitiveness. He emphasised the government's foreign business-friendly policies and its determination to address corruption while also enhancing transparency and governance.
On the evening of 1 April, Foreign Minister Kasit met with Thai community in New York, informing them of what the government has been doing in terms of economic, social and political development in Thailand. During the course of the day, he also gave interviews to a number of U.S.-based media, including Newsweek, Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg and CNN, on such issues as Thailand's assistance for the long-term recovery of Haiti following the earthquake on 12 January 2010, the government's people-centred policies and its approach in resolving the country's current political situation. On the latter issues, the foreign minister affirmed that the Thai government intends to resolve problems through negotiations and within the parliamentary framework, instead of through street protests, and to take into account the views from all sides in society — an approach which the general Thai public support. In addition, asked about the situation in Myanmar in light of the upcoming general elections by end of this year, Foreign Minister Kasit reiterated ASEAN's position regarding an inclusive, free and fair election in Myanmar and noted that the Mekong River Commission Summit in Cha-am Hua Hin on 2-5 April 2010 and the 16th ASEAN Summit in Hanoi on 8-9 April 2010 would provide opportunities for him and other ASEAN foreign ministers to discuss this matter more with their Myanmar counterpart.
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