Thai FM to Apec: We'll bounce back

HONOLULU - Thailand will quickly get back on its feet after the catastrophic floods of the past few months and continue to be a responsible player in regional and global affairs, 

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul has assured a major regional business conference in Hawaii.

He admitted Thailand had been hard hit by the continuing flooding, in a speech to the Asia-Pacific Business Symposium at the East-West Centre on Thursday (Friday, Bangkok time). The symposium is part of the Apec forum meeting.

"The Thai people have always shown resilience in the face of past adversity; this widespread flood is no exception," said Mr Surapong.

He thanked the country's friends in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) grouping and elsewhere for their prompt assistance for Thailand's endeavors to speedily return the country to normalcy.

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul

He gave an assurance that the Thai economy, given its fundamental strength, would be back on track soon with renewed dynamism.

The cabinet, he said, had recently approved a relief and recovery plan and package which included immediate relief measures to flood victims, 

Social rehabilitation action, post-crisis loans and incentives, and a long-term plan to develop a comprehensive water resources management system to prevent the recurrence of such devastation.

The government was determined to assist investors, both Thai and foreigners, in flood-hit areas to resume operation as soon as possible, he said.

A budget of approximately US$10 billion had been earmarked for post-flood restoration -- of this, $2 billion was for big business and $5.5 billion for small and medium-sized enterprises as well as small vendors and individuals, Mr Surapong said.

The Thai Chamber of Commerce had also set up a special committee to assess the flood situation and propose mitigation measures for entrepreneurs, he said.

While mobilising all resources to overcome the calamity and to restore international confidence in the Thai economy, the government, which was elected only in July, was determined that Thailand would continue to be a responsible regional and global player, Mr Surapong told the business gathering on the sidelines of the Apec summit here.

Yet, he conceded that the real economic impact from the flooding was the disruption in the supply chain in sectors such as the automobile and computer industries.

On a wider front, natural disasters inevitably affected all economies, he said. Thailand, as a major food producer, was committed to strengthen its capabilities to prevent an economic fallout from natural disasters in the international community, he said.

With the Asean Summit in Bali scheduled next week, Thailand was continuing to work towards the integration of the Asean Community in 2015.

Mr Surapong reaffirmed the strategic location of Thailand for regional connectivity through the economic corridors linking Burma in the west to Vietnam in the east and between the Asean nations to the south and China to the north.

At a separate meeting with his Philippine counterparts, Mr Surapong agreed that the fifth Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation to be held next year in the Philippines would include discussion on disaster management with a wide agenda including trade, investment, energy, education, agriculture and drug controls.

Philippines secretary of state Albert del Rosario and Mr Surapong exchanged condolences regarding the flooding in both countries. Mr del Rosario expressed the hope the salaries of Filipino teachers working in Thailand would be raised to the same as other foreign nationals.

Meanwhile, Thailand and Chile expressed hope that they would be able to finalise next year the free trade agreement negotiations that began last year to celebrate the 50 years of diplomatic relations.

Mr Surapong thanked his counterpart Alfredo Charme for Chile's $25,000 donation to the Thai Red Cross for the flood victims.

Next year the two countries plan a series of activities to commemorate diplomatic relations including painting competitions on a Thai-Chilean theme and film festivals, and look forward to growing two-way trade.

Bilateral trade in 2010 was worth $819 million, an increase of more than 170 per cent on the previous year.