On 14 July 2010, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in a discussion on the topic of “The Mechanisms, Preventive Measures and Suppression of International Corruption” which is a part of the Office of the National Counter Corruption Commission’s training program, at Royal River Hotel, Bangkok.
Foreign Minister Kasit stated that the Royal Thai Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, emphasized the promotion of good governance, transparency, and combating corruption in its administration, as reflected in the Prime Minister‘s 9-point Code of Conduct given to the Cabinet.
The corruption prevention and anti-corruption issues became a matter of great concern in the international community since 1980. The corruption could be categorized into four groups, namely (1) embezzlement of financial assistance for development from developed countries (2) bribery to developing countries’ government officers and politicians by multinational corporations for personal gains (3) money laundering and (4) tax evasion. These corruption acts led to arise of illegal influential figures, cross border crimes and disruption of sustainable development in developing countries.
Foreign Minister Kasit also emphasized two anti-corruption mechanisms, namely “legal authority” and “moral authority”, which have to practice together. The legal authority can be transcribed into written form to be strictly abided by everyone. The moral authority, in contrast, has no definite form and need cooperation by all parties as well as implantation of good moral conscience to young generation. The Foreign Minister himself always invited developed countries to share their experience and best practices with Thailand.
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