Thailand will follow the ASEAN joint agreement establishing a joint working committee after implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2016, said Commerce Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya on Wednesday.
Gen Chatchai told some 300 leading businessmen from Asian countries attending a two-day meeting on ‘Insights ASEAN Summit 2014’ in Bangkok that combined trade between ASEAN member countries and Thailand last year totaled over US$101 billion.
Thailand’s exports to ASEAN amounted 25.9 per cent of the total.
During the first seven months of this year, Thailand exported goods to ASEAN valued at more than $57 billion, he said, adding that the kingdom is prepared to follow the ASEAN agreement, in particular the plan to establish a joint working committee after 31 December 2015 to meet the needs of people wishing for peace in the region as well as wanting cooperation with countries outside the region.
Meanwhile, Surin Pitsuwan, a former ASEAN secretary-general, told participants that a challenge for Thailand which would gain from the AEC is the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) amounting to over two million.
Only a few Thai SMEs have had the courage to invest abroad to date, said Mr Surin, adding that Thailand also needs to speed up increasing per capita income to over $10,000 from the current average of only $7,000.
The meeting ends tomorrow.
