With the global economy expected to slow and world trade facing uncertainty, notably from international trade rows, all parties must stay alert to cope with such risks, says Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
"All ministries have been ordered to prepare preventive measures to offset the risks," Mr Somkid said yesterday in his keynote speech at the Forbes Global CEO conference. "The Commerce Ministry, for instance, needs to look for new markets like each province in China, which offers immense opportunities, while the state spending needs to be kept on track to drive local economic growth in the year to come."
According to Mr Somkid, the incumbent government has implemented a raft of measures during the past four years to boost the domestic economy and strike a balance between exports and the local economy, raising economic growth to 4.8% in the first half of 2018.
"Thailand is no longer the sick country in Asean," he insisted. "The country was the only one in the region for which the International Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank recently raised their GDP forecasts, thanks to relatively low external debt, which accounts for only 40% of GDP, foreign reserves that are as high as US$200 billion (6.63 trillion baht), and a robust current account and balance of payments."
Mr Somkid said tourism is set to remain strong next year, adding that Thailand has many interesting tourist destinations, especially in the secondary cities the government is trying to promote.
Mr Somkid also reaffirmed that the Eastern Economic Corridor, the government's flagship initiative, and other big-ticket infrastructure projects will continue in the future, no matter which government takes office.
"Thailand will have a new election at the beginning of next year," he said, and any subsequent government would be legally bound to continue infrastructure projects begun by the current government, according to the new constitution.