Thailand Highlights Tourism, Agriculture and Halal Industry
Bangkok, BTNp: AT GOVERNMENT House, Thailand’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha attended and deliver a statement at the 13th IMT-GT Summit via a videoconference. Attending the meeting were Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob of Malaysia, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, ASEAN Secretary-General Dato Lim Jock Hoi, and ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa.
The Prime Minister expressed pleasure to attend the 13th IMT-GT Summit. Throughout the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the entire world, including the IMT-GT sub-region. Nonetheless, the country-led prevention efforts and the vaccination program undertaken by IMT-GT member countries have led to a continuous decrease in death counts across the board. Several relief measures have also been introduced, making it possible to sustain economies in these difficult times.
In the case of Thailand, the government has put in place a series of economic stimulus and social protection packages. Moreover, to pave the way for the country is re-opening, Thailand has been welcoming fully vaccinated tourists to enter the country without quarantine under the “Phuket Sandbox” scheme and the “Samui Plus” model since July.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that all three countries will be able to share information and best practices in order to strengthen similar pilot projects and to develop common standards for the “new normal” of post-COVID tourism which prioritizes adherence to safety and health guidelines.
As Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia are working towards achieving post-COVID recovery and advancing IMT-GT cooperation, a strong emphasis must be placed upon the transformation of all three of the leading industries: tourism, agriculture, and halal industry.
IMT-GT may build on the past progress in transforming the sub-region into a single tourist destination. To this end, the Prime Minister suggested that thematic trials be further developed, as well as the IMT-GT geopark cooperation. Ways in which the network of multi-modal physical infrastructures that have been built throughout the past five years may be utilized in support of this endeavor.
In agriculture, upscaling of past projects that aimed to increase agricultural productivity. IMT-GT may put more efforts towards high-value agricultural and agro-processed commodities that match our strengths and the market demands, such as rubber and rubber products.
And the halal industry it is important that IMT-GT strengthen halal certification in order to gain acceptance from the global halal market. The Prime Minister also emphasized the need for IMT-GT to enhance competitiveness in the halal industry by, for instance, empowering halal SMEs and creating a conducive environment wherein they can flourish.
To facilitate the strengthening of the three leading industries, the Prime Minister proposed the following three enablers also need to be enhanced. Frist seamless physical connectivity, Prime Minister encouraged all stakeholders to expedite the implementation of ongoing projects, and include new projects into the list of PCPs.
Streamlined rules and regulations, the Prime Minister hoped that the stakeholders involved would be able to finalize the Framework of Cooperation (FoC) in CIQ, so that its signing can take place early next year. The signing of this document will help facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and people among the three countries and lead to the expansion of trade and investment in the sub-region.
The third, environmental sustainability, Prime Minister urged the stakeholders to recognize the importance of green recovery, and would also like to see projects under the Sustainable Urban Development Framework (SUDF), which is in line with Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economic Model, being implemented using various funding options. Private funding, for instance, may be tapped into by issuing sustainability bonds, which have been piloted by Thailand is Ministry of Finance, as well as funding from other sources, such as trust funds established by ASEAN or the ADB.
The Prime Minister stressed that in addition to the Vision 2036 and member countries’ development priorities, the work of IMT-GT must also align with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which cover three dimensions of development – economic, social, and environment, with no one left behind. He also hoped that the meeting today will lead to concrete and successful actions, which will help IMT-GT, weather the storm and create opportunities for the people in the future. *BTNewspaper/ASEAN
