Govt asked to sell Thai expertise

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said the financial sector is urging the government to promote Thailand’s medical industry and expertise in the Greater Mekong Subregion in the aftermath of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

Busaya Mathelin, the MFA permanent secretary, told the Bangkok Post yesterday after a national forum at the ministry headquarters that members of the financial sector agreed the government should strengthen the kingdom’s position as a hygienic society by selling medical products and services in the future.

“We touched on the idea of medical tourism and agreed that the coronavirus outbreak has fostered trust in our public health system,” Ms Busaya said after meeting.

The forum discussed the postCovid-19 direction of economic diplomacy with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and China.

Ms Busaya said the financial sector during the meeting urged the government to help speed up digitisation in the region and increase cross-border trade by promoting local currencies, removing customs excise and facilitating transportation.

“We discussed the possibility of linking the Eastern Economic Corridor with the Southern Economic Corridor to make the country a hub in the region now that we have U-Tapao international airport and high-speed trains in place,” she said.

When asked about the travel bubble plan — a programme to allow some foreigners into the kingdom to reboot the tourism and investment industries — Ms Busaya said the Foreign Affairs Ministry agrees travellers should be allowed to travel within the Mekong region for business purposes.

“During the recent Asean Summit, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha proposed the special travel arrangement [for Asean member states],” she said. “In fact, CLMV countries are not epidemic hotspots.”