BANGKOK, 20 May 2013 – Thailand and the United Kingdom have signed an official agreement to promote small- and medium-sized enterprises ahead of the realization of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.
Industry Minister Prasert Boonchaisuk and the UK’s Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire, on Tuesday, chaired the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Thailand’s Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion and the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) to promote SME businesses in both countries.
Mr. Prasert said that the MOU on SME promotion will be active for 3 years, during which Thai-UK trade is expected to double from the current level of more than 40 billion baht.
He also believes that the latest cooperation between the two countries will induce more exchanges of knowhow, knowledge and experiences as well as technology and business conducts between SME operators in Thailand and UK.
And with the AEC to be materialized in less than 3 years, the Industry Minister noted that the Thai-UK collaboration will further spur trade between the UK and the ASEAN+6 bloc, while Thailand will have a more active role as a connecting hub for all countries.
