Bangkok: Prime Minister Paethongtarn Shinawatra showcased her vision on stage at the 22nd Forbes Global CEO Conference, pushing the Thai economy, promoting soft power, and dealing with challenges, highlighting Thailand’s strengths as being in the middle of Southeast Asia, with a strong agricultural sector that attracts investors, saying that stimulating the economy by distributing 10,000 baht in Phase 2 will target cash flow, declaring Thailand’s position as an ambassador of peace, ready to adapt to Trump’s policies.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister, joined Ms. Moira Forbes, Executive Vice President of Forbes Media and President and Publisher of ForbesWomen, in a one-on-one conversation on a wide range of global issues of interest at the 22nd Forbes Global CEO Conference, which was attended by over 400 of the world’s leading business executives, entrepreneurs, and investors.
The Prime Minister spoke about Thailand’s commitment to infrastructure development, includin
g strengthening the country’s economic growth through short-term, medium-term, and long-term measures to increase competitiveness and facilitate business and travel, and strengthen cooperation with the private sector, especially in key industries such as the digital economy, connectivity, and household and SME debt restructuring. Recently, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft have announced major investments in cloud and AI infrastructure in Thailand, including data centers. The government is ready to push policies and measures to facilitate operations.
In addition, Thailand is ready to be a strategic partner with an important location that will facilitate being the center of the ASEAN region, creating connectivity between each other. With infrastructure readiness, strength, including the country’s food security and capable personnel, it is the foundation that makes Thailand a strong partner for long-term growth in the region. In addition, Thailand is neutral and flexible, which has received investment confidence f
rom businessmen around the world.
‘One of the benefits and strengths of Thailand is its location, as it is located in the middle of Southeast Asia. In addition, Thailand has a strong agricultural sector, which will talk about food security, which foreign investors are excited about and are preparing policies to provide employees for the government, preparing civil servants to work in collaboration with other countries. Therefore, it is a very good time to invest in Thailand,’ said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister added that Thailand has been successful in becoming a destination that has attracted investment from global technology giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. The Board of Investment (BOI) has greatly facilitated investment. In addition, there has been high-value investment in education and training projects to develop skilled people. Furthermore, there is also an emphasis on enhancing soft power as Thais have excellent craftsmanship skills, especially Thailand’s long-standing culture.
The government has a vision to bring valuable cultural heritage to be better known in order to increase economic value through upgrading and reskilling, as well as promoting Thailand’s creative industries abroad through a proactive foreign policy that focuses on promoting creative industries in 14 fields.
The Prime Minister also said that the government has a budget to issue policies to help people in the economic stimulus project, which will use 10,000 baht to help because the money will be used immediately rather than saved. At the same time, there is a plan to give another 10,000 baht to people aged 60 and over, which is a priority because we want the money to circulate in the economic system.
Regarding Thailand’s transition, the Prime Minister said that at various conferences, the question she often gets is, “How is your father?” She tries to answer from a business perspective, but the first question she gets is about her father. She joked, “You’ll hear your father’s voice this evening (November 21).” T
he second question that was often asked was, “How are you, auntie?”, which drew laughter from the conference room.
The Prime Minister also talked about the roles of Thailand and the United States, saying that when she spoke with representatives of the United States and China, as well as other countries, she presented herself as an ambassador of peace and prosperity. This is the principle of Thailand: peace, tranquility, and prosperity. But if you look at President Trump, the economic perspective has changed. In terms of exports, we must have policies to support it by trying to make Thai people understand the methods. In Trump’s day, it was not a problem for us because we exported 10% of GDP to the United States. And I am ready to open the market and adjust policies. I know that everyone is worried. The government is well prepared.
The Prime Minister said that Thailand is ready for investment, especially future businessmen in both Data Center and semi connectors, and must announce to the world that we are re
ady. Now we are calm and peaceful.
‘I believe that everyone wants to see long-term progress. In the next 5 years, we will escape the middle-income trap. The government has a 10-year plan. We have to build the foundation first. No matter if the government changes or the prime minister changes, I want the policy to be consistent with the people. And these benefits must stay with the people for as long as possible. For example, the 30-baht universal healthcare policy was implemented 20 years ago. This policy is still in place today. I don’t want the benefits to end with the government. It’s over after one policy. I don’t want it to end. I want to build a foundation that has long roots. I want the policies that have been created to last forever. And I’m confident that we will definitely see it,’ said the prime minister.