PM wants to work ‘more closely’ with Central Bank
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has publicly declared that there is no animosity between him and the governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT), saying that he would appreciate hearing the governor’s views on a regular basis.
The premier held talks with BoT chief Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput on Monday at the Government House to discuss various issues. The meeting lasted roughly 45 minutes.
After the event, Srettha posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, “Today, I invited Sethaput to exchange thoughts on the economy and the financial system. Our talk was very fruitful.”
He said there would be similar meetings with the central bank head every month, with the next one set to be hosted in the next few days.
The PM also told reporters that there was no dispute between him and Sethaput, despite recent rumours of the BoT leader being on the verge of being removed because of Sethaput’s expressed opposition to the government’s fiscal measures, including the flagship 10,000-baht handout scheme.
“The talks [with the Bank of Thailand governor] went smoothly. There is no dispute, none at all,” Srettha said, adding: “The reason I invited him is because I wanted to hear his views.”
Srettha said that Sethaput also raised several fiscal issues, and he was open to hearing them.
The meeting took place after the BoT voted to raise the benchmark interest rate to 2.5% last week, which is the highest level in over a decade.
