Barter trade deal agreed with Russia

THAILAND and Russia agreed to barter farm products for helicopters during Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s just-completed visit, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said yesterday.

Don said Russia wanted to buy 80,000 tonnes of natural rubber and an amount of rice, while Thailand wanted to purchase Russian-made helicopters to be used in fighting bushfires.

A working group from both countries will discuss details of the barter deal, such as the exact amount of products involved, the foreign minister said.

Russia also promised to support Thailand’s bid to become a new member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Don said, adding that the Kingdom was preparing to apply to join the group. 

He said that by joining the EEU, Thailand’s goal of boosting trade volume with Russia by five times in five years, to Bt320 billion, would be more easily achieved.

Prime Minister Prayut has called on Russia to help Thailand develop innovative technologies to boost the competitiveness of the Kingdom’s products in the world market.

While in St Petersburg earlier this week, Prayut and seven of his Cabinet ministers gave a detailed account to Russian business people on what Thailand wants from Russia. 

During his visit to Russia, General Prayut emphasised the fact that better technology would give added value to Thailand’s traditional export goods and reduce the impact of climate change, according to a report by Russia Beyond the Headlines.

“We want Russia to help our country in the development of innovative technologies, so that our products become competitive … Technology is also a kind of investment,” Prayut said.

He gave a detailed list of industries, which could gain from the use of new technologies such as agriculture, aircraft and mechanical engineering, and robotics.

The Thai leader mentioned the need for a balance between industrial development and the preservation of nature, and how this could be achieved by using green technologies. He also called for the creation of institutions with Russia to study innovation.

“The countries that have technologies can cope better with financial crises,” he said at the Russian-Thai Business Forum at the Four Seasons Hotel on the day before the Asean-Russia summit in Sochi.

But before describing what his country needs from Russia, Prayut took an indirect swipe at the United States, according to Russia Beyond the Headlines. He thanked his hosts for not interfering in the internal affairs of Thailand, and made it clear that his government’s foreign policy was guided by domestic politics. “Our priority is the well-being of the Thai people,” he said. “We want Thailand to flourish.” An analysis of the prime minister’s 90-minute speech made it clear that Thailand was looking for three things from Russia: a market for Thai goods, technologies and investments, Russia Beyond the Headlines reported.

 

Goal to boost trade five-fold 

“We cannot wait,” he said. “We have to work and increase our trade turnover five-fold in five years.” 

In 2015, this figure amounted to only US$2 billion (Bt70 billion). However, he lamented the fact that although Russia and Thailand had “similar intentions”, the countries apparently “did not understand each other very well.” He also called on Russia to invest in Thailand.

Russian businessmen who went to his address were not prepared for the Thai prime minister saying so much and in such detail. Prayut essentially called on them to help upgrade the Thai economy, it said. 

The Russian business community, however, accepted the challenge, Russia Beyond the Headlines said.

According to Alexei Repik, president of the Russian public organisation Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia), Russian companies are ready to offer everything Prayut needs. “Thailand will not buy uncompetitive technologies from Russia and will not work in those niches where it can find a more efficient partner,” Repik said.

He said the main barrier between Russia and Thailand was there were areas where the parties have never cooperated. Repik said the countries needed to set ambitious goals.

As an example, he cited the private Russian-Thai Business House – established at the beginning of 2016 – through which $30 million (Bt1 billion) worth of contracts has been signed between companies from |the non-primary sectors of the economy.