PM holds bilateral meetings with EU on economic cooperation

The Davos 2024 event started on Monday and will conclude today (January 19).

According to a Thai government press release, on Thursday morning Srettha met with Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission at the Congress Centre in Davos. Both parties exchanged views on the conflicts and unrest in various parts of the globe and emphasized the importance of promoting positive relationships and connectivity among countries at the government, economic, and community levels.

The Thai PM and EC president also agreed to continue negotiating more free trade agreements (FTAs) between Thailand and members of the European Union to boost international trade.

Srettha’s next meeting was with Christian Fischer, deputy chairman of the board of management at Robert Bosch, a world leader in automotive, industrial, building and energy technology, and consumer products with a presence in 60 countries.

Srettha and Fischer discussed investment opportunities in Thailand in both automotive and non-automotive industries. The company is interested in establishing manufacturing facilities in Thailand to export products to countries in the Southeast Asian region and Japan.

Srettha invited Bosch to set up a regional headquarters in Thailand and promised to provide supporting measures, especially in the industries related to electric vehicles.

Next on Srettha’s meeting schedule on Thursday was Ruth Porat, chief financial officer of Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Topics discussed included Google’s investment in the cloud centre business in Thailand and the use of technology to improve public health services and boost the income of Thai farmers. The company highlighted the importance of technological advancement that would benefit everyone in society under the government’s “Leave no one behind” policy.

Srettha’s last meeting was with Remy Ejel, chief executive officer for Asia, Oceania and Africa at Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverage company with factories around the world, including in Thailand.

After the meeting, Srettha said that after operating in Thailand for several years, Nestlé has expanded to the animal feed business and will continue to use Thailand as a hub for manufacturing and exporting, thanks to the advantages of its location and logistics.

The Nestlé CEO pointed out obstacles in Thailand’s import and export sector, noting that the existing FTAs with trade partners were not comprehensive enough, as well as the overlapping customs procedures.

Srettha promised the government’s full efforts to improve the ease of doing business for foreign companies, including the use of a single-form system among import-export authorities and the Board of Investment (BOI).