BANGKOK, Thailand – Umesh Pandey, Thailand Trade Representative, who has been given the charge of handling of Asean region, recently held a meeting with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and undertook a business matching of Thai and Malaysian businessmen to facilitate higher trade and investments between the two countries.
The meeting from the Malaysia’s businessmen was led by their FMM President – Tan Sri Dato’ Soh Thian Lai, whereby both sides discussed ways to increase trade and investment cooperation.
Mr. Umesh during his meeting stated that the main objective was to listen to the needs of the Malaysian business sector to increase the value of trade between the two countries.
During the meeting Malaysian businesses requested for a common quality certification for products in all ASEAN countries to reduce trade procedures between the two countries and also wants to participate in the supply chain system in production in various sectors.
In addition, Malaysia has expressed its desire to cooperate in automotive technology with Thailand to exchange knowledge to create mutual strengths in this business. In creating mutual strengths in business, the Thai Trade Representative, Mr. Umesh, agreed in the meeting that he would help push for this.
During the talks Mr. Umesh asked the members of the FMM to give importance to border trade under the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) framework, which covers the borders of Narathiwat and Songkhla provinces of Thailand, by helping to promote private sector cooperation between each other.
He also said that they should help push for the full utilization of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), which is an existing tool for economic cooperation between Thailand and Malaysia.
Mr. Umesh also emphasized the importance of continuity in creating cooperation in other sectors that Thailand and Malaysia should jointly develop, such as tourism, automotive parts industry, electrical equipment, medical equipment, and construction materials.
To facilitate Thai businesses, especially the small & medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the delegation visiting Malaysia saw nearly two dozen Thai businesses attending business matching and talks with Malaysia’s FMM. The Department of International Trade Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, has helped organize the businesses and more of such interaction between businesses, especially SMEs, are set to be undertaken in future.
SMEs, which account for a bulk of employment and economy in most ASEAN countries, are the backbone of the economy and such business matching and trade delegation, helps the SMEs expand their markets abroad. As a result, Thai businesses can increase their strength and competitiveness. (PRD)
