ASEAN chief urges government to boost confidence in Thailand

BANGKOK, December 7 (TNA) - ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan suggested Wednesday that the Thai government boost confidence in its production, trade, export and tourism in the wake of this year's flooding crisis. Surin urged the Thai government to restore confidence in the international community in the domestic tourism first through international forums, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Group of Twenty or G-20 and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member, as well as worldwide television networks, to publicize that Bangkok is now ready for business resumption. Surin said that the Thai government needs to convince international investors who doubt the capacities of Thailand and to assure this year's widespread flooding in the country would not recur, as effective and standard flood prevention systems will be developed. According to the ASEAN chief, Thailand's flooding crisis this year has affected supply chains in many ASEAN countries because Thailand is the second largest production base in the 10-member bloc; so, all countries are concerned and want Thailand to recover soon. The ASEAN secretary-general acknowledged that each natural disaster normally causes damages worth at least 100 million US dollars, and that the latest flooding in Thailand should cause heavier damages. The ASEAN chief, who is a former Thai foreign minister, also urged the Thai government to realize the importance of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), set to be established by 2015, which covers a total population of over 600 million and an overall gross domestic product (GDP) of over 2 trillion US dollars, advising that Thailand should quickly seize opportunities emerging from the AEC. (TNA)