BANGKOK, Oct 27 – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has instructed all concerned agencies to work with the private sector to prepare the country for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, while the Thai government has outlined eight key strategies for Thailand’s readiness.
PM, on a prerecorded episode of her weekly TV programme “”Yingluck Government Meets the People,” said she chaired a second workshop for state agencies and the private and civil sectors on Wednesday to follow up on various issues decided during the first meeting, which assigned all ministries to assess Thailand’s readiness and competencies in relations to various ASEAN directives and regulations.
In the second meeting, Ms Yingluck said the government has been briefed on the readiness of each industry-assessed state agency. The premier said she has ordered the ministries to jointly work with the private sector to re-evaluate readiness in all aspects and present information to the cabinet in two weeks.
Ms Yingluck added the government has outlined eight strategies to prepare the country for entering the AEC in the next three years.
The strategies include the promotion of competitiveness on products, services, trade, and investment; the improvement of quality of life and social protection; the development of basic infrastructure and logistics system to enhance connectivity; human resources development to meet ASEAN education standard; the improvement of law and regulations to facilitate trade and investment; the promotion of public awareness on the AEC; the strengthening of security issues; and the enhancement of urban competitiveness to take advantage of ASEAN opportunities.
Ms Yingluck said the cabinet is committed to pushing for Thailand’s readiness for the AEC at a national level, while four sub-committees will also be set up.
They are the sub-committees which will implement the eight strategies at the regional and provincial levels, the joint committee with private sectors, the sub-committee on basic infrastructure, and the sub-committee on law amendment.
