On 28 April 2010, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave a keynote address at the Joint Dissemination Seminar for the Book on “Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia”, co-hosted by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) at the TDRI office in Bangkok.
Foreign Minister Kasit stated that the Foreign Ministry viewed the issues of infrastructure development and regional connectivity as absolutely essential to the development of Thailand, ASEAN and Asia, so that they would become more competitive and dynamic partners to the rest of the world. Despite the recent financial crises, Asia remains at the heart of global trade and growth. There is a strong need for substantial investments in infrastructure development in Asia to maximize untapped potential in the region. Thailand has made continuous efforts in developing key infrastructure to improve connectivity to help narrow the development gaps between countries, as well as to improve the region’s competitiveness, promote intra-regional trade, investment, tourism and people-to-people contacts, and make the ASEAN Community a reality. From 2003 to 2008, Thailand provided approximately 13 billion baht worth of financial and technical assistance to neighboring countries through various sub-regional cooperation frameworks. Thailand also appreciated the ADB’s outstanding role in promoting Asia’s connectivity and hopes that the ADB will continue to work closely with Asian countries in this effort.
Thailand has been working with key partners both within and outside the region, while the ASEAN has also been working on this issue continuously at various levels. During the 15th ASEAN Summit in Thailand, the ASEAN Leaders agreed that a High Level Task Force on ASEAN Connectivity be established to study ASEAN’s internal and external connectivity and to draft a Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, including identifying the ‘missing links and obstacles’, and the development of both hardware infrastructure and software side which deals with cross-border facilitation. However, ASEAN must also take into consideration that the connectivity can also bring about unintended negative consequences such as pollution, rise in transnational crimes, pandemics, and illicit trafficking in arms.
Nonetheless, apart from this development of connectivity, the greater prosperity for the peoples of Southeast Asia also requires peace and stability generated by a greater sense of shared belonging by the peoples of the region, a rules-based environment that can give confidence to investors and a platform for greater connectivity with other regions.
Attended by the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), UNESCAP, ADB, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this seminar was intended to present and to receive feedback on the book entitled “Infrastructure for a Seamless Asia” in a joint flagship project conducted by ADBI and ADB. The book contains useful information and recommendations on the topic that will be beneficial for Asian countries in pursuing their regional connectivity goals.
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