Attending ASEAN-Australia summit opened new doors for Thailand, says Srettha
Expressing confidence that his trip to Australia had opened the door to many opportunities for Thais, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he also gained a lot of knowledge at the ASEAN-Australia special summit.
Srettha was speaking to reporters in Melbourne before boarding a flight to Bangkok at 10.30am on Wednesday.
Srettha said the summit offered both Australia and ASEAN a great opportunity to boost cooperation via three pillars: the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).
The summit, held on Tuesday, also marked 50 years of strategic ties between the grouping and Australia.
Srettha said he has assured ASEAN and Australia that Thailand was willing to push for the development of ties on connectivity, digital development, soft power and people’s relations.
On the connectivity front, Thailand will be willing to promote investment, trade and cooperation through several frameworks, including infrastructure and logistic development for seamless transportation.
Srettha said Thailand was also committed to the Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which he believes will generate up to US$2 trillion in revenue for ASEAN and Australia.
As for ties between people, Srettha said Thailand will promote them through soft power and creative economy.
He said his government will also push for visa exemptions among members of the grouping and Australia to facilitate travel.
In addition, Srettha said his government is planning to cooperate with Australia on clean energy usage by developing an ecosystem for electric vehicles in Thailand. His government will also issue sustainability bonds to support this ecosystem.
Srettha expressed confidence that both ASEAN and Australia will ensure peace and security in the region as they share common goals as strategic partners. The two sides also plan to cooperate on tackling climate change, he added.
On the sidelines of the summit, Srettha also held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Malaysia, Laos, Australia and New Zealand.
The premier said he discussed border issues with the Laotian PM, and maintaining peace and security with the Malaysian premier. He added that plans to develop Thailand’s deep South, and finding and promoting its “hidden gems” was also on the agenda of his talks with the Malaysian PM.
In his talk with the Australian premier, Srettha said he proposed that the country import Thai farmhands. He also thanked Australia for taking good care of Thai students.
With his New Zealand counterpart, he discussed mutual visa exemption, adding that the New Zealand PM is scheduled to visit Thailand in April.
Srettha concluded the media briefing by saying that he also met executives of six large corporations of key industries, clean energy and financial operations during his visit to Australia.
