By Peter Townson
Staff Reporter
Qatar, the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East all play an important role in Thailand’s future, according to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva who hopes to visit the region early next year, depending on the state of domestic affairs in his country.
Speaking to Gulf Times and other members of the regional media recently, Abhisit conceded that with the recent violent protests in Bangkok he had had to focus his attention on resolving the domestic situation and had not been able to commit as much time as he would have liked to develop foreign ties.
“I have been kept back by a lot of domestic issues over this year and a half, but I think as things stabilise I will certainly be looking for further opportunities to make visits to the region,” he said.
“One of my advisers has just returned from Egypt and I think we have identified a number of areas where we can enhance our bilateral relationship, as well as Thailand’s relationship with the rest of the Middle East and Africa.
“Clearly there are still a number of economic opportunities so there can be expansion in trade and investment but there are also areas such as cultural and educational contacts which we think we can work on,” he said, adding “for instance in the area of Islamic studies there is still room for expansion of co-operation, and I have asked my adviser to explore these avenues.”
Abhisit referred to the increasing amount of Thai citizens who are heading to the Gulf and Middle Eastern countries in search of employment.
“We have a sizeable number of Thai workers in the region, and we are trying to facilitate the process of sending Thai workers abroad and making sure they are working under good conditions,” he argued.
He also pointed out that Thai companies, especially in areas like the construction sector, were keen to work abroad.
“We have a trade representative office which is identifying a number of opportunities for Thai construction companies, and I believe there will be plenty of opportunities in the region.”
He said Thailand recognised the potential of growth in the GCC countries and “we have been very supportive of the GCC-Asean relationship”.
“My expectation is that the GCC and Asean countries will move rather quickly to make this relationship at a high level as this is an area there is potential,” he said, referring to the possibility of assisting Qatar and other countries with their food security issues.
However, foreign issues have taken something of a back seat in recent months, as the political situation in Thailand has been destabilised by protests and rioting.
“As you know we are facing numerous challenges but the goal of the government is to achieve recovery, reform and reconciliation and we are making steady progress on all fronts,” explained the prime minister.
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