Thai government to stick to current economic policy

Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai Government has affirmed that the country will persistently stick to its current economic policy, adding that the government operation next year will focus on socio-economic reform.

Addressing the recent conference on Thai economy outlook 2018, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said that next year, investing in large-scale infrastructure, strengthening economic growth and boosting stable tourism development will be a new driving force of the Thai economy in 2018.

The East Economic Corridor will be another driving force of the economy, which is expected to draw more investment in the region, he said.

The Thai Deputy PM also stressed that the Thai Government will work hard to form a new political system to attract more talents to the country.

He noted that in the recent three years, the country’s economic growth was raised to 3.2 percent in the second year from only 0.8 percent in the first years. The figure is likely to reach 4 percent this year, he added. In 2018, many major projects in infrastructure, tourism and export will also be implemented, he said.

The position of Thailand has also been improved. The World Economic Forum placed Thailand at 32nd position among 137 countries in competitiveness, while the country stands 26th in the World Bank ranking for investment environment for 2018, leaping 22 paces over 2017.

Jatusripitak attributed the success to considerable improvement in the country’s infrastructure, macro-economic environment, health care and education development, market, financial market growth, and readiness in technology.-VNA