Thai government recommended to have national agenda on AEC

BANGKOK, June 1 (TNA) - ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has recommended that the Thai government work out a national agenda to prepare Thailand for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), scheduled to be established by 2015. At a seminar on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN connection to other regions held in Bangkok on Friday, coinciding with the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia 2012, Surin insisted that the Thai government should have a national agenda on the preparation toward the AEC. Surin, who is a former Thai foreign minister, said that the Thai government also needs to develop national infrastructure to cope with the formation of the AEC over the next three years, suggesting that the Thai administration promote and facilitate Thai businesses’ expansion overseas as well by providing them with financial support, particularly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Besides, according to the ASEAN chief, the Thai government should support research and development (R&D) projects and the improvement of product quality and designs, as well as change regulations and improve development on personnel in many fields of work. The ASEAN chief pointed out that Thailand's spending on R&D now accounts for only 0.24 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), which is smaller than that of Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China, recommending that Thailand increase the R&D spending proportion to 0.5 per cent of the country's GDP over the next couple of years and to 1 per cent over the next seven years. The ASEAN secretary general also said that he wants the per capita income of Thai people to rise to 10,000 US dollars per annum over the next few years, from 4,000 US dollars per annum currently.(TNA)