Thailand Today
- Publication
- The Empire Club of Canada Addresses (Toronto, Canada), 12 Apr 1984, p. 349-356
- Speaker
- Tinsulanonda, His Excellency General Prem, Speaker
- Media Type
- Text
- Item Type
- Speeches
- Description
- An introduction to Thailand, with emphasis on economic development over the past two decades. Ways of improving economic relations between Thailand and Canada.
- Date of Original
- 12 Apr 1984
- Subject(s)
- Language of Item
- English
- Copyright Statement
- The speeches are free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.
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- Full Text
- APRIL 12,1984
Thailand Today
AN ADDRESS BY His Excellency General Prem Tinsulanonda, PRIME MINISTER OF THAILAND
CO-CHAIRMEN Douglas L. Derry, F.C.A., President, The Empire Club of Canada and George D. Butterfield, President The Canadian Club of TorontoMR. DERRY:
Your Excellencies, Ministers, ladies, and gentlemen: As North Americans, there is a strong tendency for us to focus our attention on matters within North America and, for historic, cultural, and economic reasons, westward to Europe. Yet the East has increasing impact on all of our lives and this was made no more evident than two Thursdays ago when Dr. Smith, Chairman of the Science Council of Canada addressed The Empire Club, and selected as his topic, "The Pacific Challenge: How Can Canada Compete?" This is not to suggest that our relations with Pacific Rim nations need only have competitive overtones, since there are many areas of mutual co-operation - but it does reflect the increasing importance of these nations to us, and it is to be hoped, us to them.
It is a particular honour that His Excellency General Prem, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand has consented to address us today. It is interesting that he does so in this year of the bicentennial celebrations of the province of Ontario - for only two years ago his country celebrated a bicentennial of its own. In Thailand's case it was a celebration of two hundred years of rule by the Chakri dynasty of kings - a family which is credited with consolidating the nation, and whose current monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol, is the ninth member of this family to be the King of Thailand. Since 1932, it has been a constitutional monarchy, and King Bhumibol has reigned since 1950 - slightly longer than has Canada's monarch.
It is often hard to conceptualize the size of other countries, and it is sometimes easiest to relate them to oneself. Thailand is in size almost half that of Ontario, with a population slightly more than twice that of all of Canada. The city of Bangkok has a population which is roughly twice that of Metropolitan Toronto. The land is fertile and 60 per cent of the population is involved in crop cultivation. Thailand is the largest exporter of rice in the world, and the third largest exporter of tinned pineapple, rubber, and tin. Over the last two decades the country has been increasingly industrialized, and the current visit of His Excellency and his delegation, which follows the visit of our own Prime Minister to Thailand last year, reflects a mutual desire for increased trade co-operation.
Last year General Prem - or "Pa" as he is affectionately known - was elected by Parliament to his second four-year term as prime minister. He has been described as a man who "has integrity, wants to stamp out corruption, can get along with the military, and is very popular among the people." He leads a coalition government and is perceived by many to be the ideal compromise between the army and elected politicians.
General Prem has had a life-long career in the army, spending much of it fighting Communist insurgents in the jungle along Thailand's borders. In the mid-1970s he became commander of the army in the hazardous, Communist-infested northeast part of Thailand. There, as reported by The Globe and Mail, he initiated an enlightened program of village reform, helping farmers build schools and hospitals, on the basis that weapons alone would not defeat the Communists. In 1978 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and later Minister of Defence, a post which he still holds. In 1980 he was elected to his first term as prime minister.
It is not surprising that General Prem has been honoured with a great many medals and decorations by his countrymen for his many valuable contributions. I am pleased to now welcome His Excellency General Prem, Prime Minister of Thailand.
GENERAL PREM:
Distinguished Members of The Empire Club and The Canadian Club, honourable guests, ladies and gentlemen: I am most happy to be with you in this distin guished gathering today and to share with you a few thoughts and some important facts concerning my country, Thailand. I thank you for all your hospitality and for the trouble to which you have gone to make my colleagues and me feel welcome.
Let me turn now to the real purpose of my talk with you today - the Kingdom of Thailand. Some of you here may be familiar with the country already, though I suspect that most may not. I hope, however, that I can add something to the experience of those who already know my country while offering a useful introduction to Thailand for the rest of the audience.
Thailand is a small country in Southeast Asia - slightly less than one-half the size of Ontario. Its population, however, is twice that of all Canada. The country is strategically located in the heart of Asia and the Pacific region and central to both the Pacific and Indian oceans. In terms of economic growth, the last two decades have shown Southeast Asia to be one of the most dynamic areas on earth. It is also the source of many important raw materials crucial to industry. Within this region, Thailand is a major world supplier of tin and natural rubber as well as the fifth largest exporter of food in the world.
Allow me to say a little more on the history of this economic development. Thailand's economic achievements over the past two decades have been nothing short of impressive. Real GDP has quadrupled. GDP per capita has more than doubled, life expectancy has significantly increased, primary education has reached almost the entire population, and the incidence of poverty has been cut in half. The country's growth pattern has remained relatively free from distortions. Thailand has maintained consistently high agricultural growth rates and has generated widespread improvements in the standard of living and industrial development largely through domestic capital formation.
Large amounts of arable land, a dynamic and expanding base of local entrepreneurs, a responsive labour force, improving external trading situations, and expanding export markets have all played their parts in Thailand's satisfactory growth achievements. This was the case even during the prolonged economic recession from which most countries are just recovering. During 1982 the rate of growth of the Thai economy in real terms was 4.1 per cent, still relatively high in relation to that achieved elsewhere. This trend is now improving as economic recovery gathers momentum world-wide and continues into 1984. Our growth rate in real terms in 1983 was 5.8 per cent and is expected to rise to over 6 per cent by the end of this year.
1984 marks a half-way point in the implementation of Thailand's Fifth National Economic and Social Development Plan (1981-1986) which serves as a broad guideline to development management. Among the main objectives of our development strategy during the present decade is the fostering and restructuring of both our agriculture and industry, bearing constantly in mind that the lot of the majority of Thais who are farmers must get better and that they must have a greater share of the wealth generated by development. Growth in the agricultural sector is being achieved through improvement in yield; and in the industrial sector through more export-oriented, resource-based, and more competitive operation. With the availability of natural gas and some oil, we can now continue our economic transformation with confidence.
In order to improve yield per acre, gas-derived fertilizer as well as other factors of production will be provided at low cost relative to product prices. Seedling programs, plant genetics, biotechnology, and promotion of low-cost farm machinery will also be on our list of actions. Trade in agricultural products has been made freer than before to ensure that prices are kept at realistic levels, relying on competition and market mechanism. Such measures will not only help our farmers, but also increase export earnings and maintain Thailand's advantageous position as an important world food exporter. Agro-based industries will also profit from agricultural development, which depends for its sustained growth on a proper blend between the traditional method and the modern one.
In efforts to restructure the industrial sector, Thailand is currently developing its Eastern Seaboard into a major industrialized area utilizing mainly our own natural resources, including the growing supply of natural gas deposited in the Gulf of Thailand. Full use could also be made of a relatively cheap but skilled labour force in the area.
In discussing Thailand, I can scarcely help but touch upon the philosophy which has been an intrinsic part of our way of life for more than seven hundred years and which has greatly contributed to our economic development. I am referring, of course, to Thailand's commitment to the concept of a freemarket system. This implies that the government will play only a limited role in the economic sector - limited, that is, to providing a broad policy framework and infrastructure in which the private sector is free to choose and generate specific economic activities.
However, I am fully aware of the fact that in order to derive full benefits from the system of free enterprise, there are certain prerequisites which have to be fulfilled. First, the working relationship between the government and the private sector must be a close and harmonious one. Secondly, the laws, rules, and regulations governing economic enterprise and activities must be applied fairly and without discrimination.
To foster the close co-operation that is both needed and desired, we have decided simply to institutionalize it. The Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee to address economic problems at the national level has been set up, comprising government members in charge of economic affairs and a representative cross-section from the private sector. So far, this group, which I have the honour to chair, has proved to be a valuable sounding-board for responses connected with the practical effects of governmental policies and decisions on economic matters. Due account is taken of practical difficulties aired in this forum. It serves as an open direct line of communication for a continuous two-way dialogue. Similar institution is being spread to all the provinces to encourage and generate local initiatives which can be more responsive to their particular needs. Incidentally, I am pleased to note that the participation of the private sector in my missions abroad, including this one, originated from discussions which took place in this group.
I am sure that both my government colleagues and those representatives of the Thai private sector who are with you today will be more than happy to discuss ways of improving economic relations between our two countries.
Canada is a big industrialized country with vast resources and wealth and people who have at their disposal a wide range of entrepreneurial skills and capital. Yet, in spite of our obvious differences, Canada and Thailand have much in common. We both have stable, democratic political and social systems. We are both committed to the free-market system. We both have a very large agricultural base and important resources,, especially oil and natural gas and other vital commodities. We both have enterprising peoples who always look toward ever broader horizons.
However, economic relations between Thailand and Canada are of more recent origin than those we enjoy with some European countries or with the United States. Thailand's major trading partners are Japan, the United States, and the European Community. The United States is our largest investor in terms of stock of investment as well as of overall flow. Japan ranks as our largest investor in promoted activities.
In comparison, the trading between Thailand and Canada remains very small and this leaves a great deal of unexplored potential. We would like to see an expansion in economic links between Canada and Thailand. In the past, distance has been an inhibiting factor, but the world has been shrinking rapidly and the economic changes in the Pacific region are creating new markets, associations and importance as to how centrally a country is located. We welcome these changes as they present both challenges and opportunities now that Canada is looking increasingly in our direction.
I am very hopeful about the promising prospects of enhanced business contacts between our two countries. As I mentioned earlier, a very real degree of complement exists between our two economies - and that is not only a Thai perspective. Your country's distinguished Minister for International Trade, Mr. Gerald Regan, had this to say in a speech to the Thai business community in Bangkok last May. Canadian industrial and business strengths fit surprisingly well with the major sectors of development in the Thai economy. As I urge you to receive positively our request to participate more deeply in Thailand's development, I believe that these greater links can be founded on genuine affection and respect between our two countries.
I fully concur with your Minister's sentiments. Indeed, my presence here in Toronto today should be taken as a strong expression of the Thai government's desire to see Canadian business participate in Thailand's development endeavours ever more actively.
During my few days here in Canada, I have discussed several issues, economic and political with your Prime Minister and Cabinet as well as leading businessmen and academics. I have also had a fruitful discussion with the Members of the Board of Trade at Vancouver and many members of the AlbertaThailand Task Force who were kind enough to be there as well. I would like to thank you now for all the opportunities you have given me and my colleagues during this visit to inform you about our country and the possibility of co-operation for our mutual benefit. I appreciate the hospitality and the very warm welcome you have extended to me throughout my stay in your country.
Ladies and gentlemen, I and my colleagues in the public and private sectors look forward very much to seeing you again at some future time when you visit our country. If the reason for your visit is concerned with the promotion of a successful and mutually profitable business relationship between our two nations, that visit will be made even more meaningful, adding even greater dimensions to the new era of Canadian-Thai relationship.
Thank you very much.
The appreciation of the audience was expressed by George D. Butterfield, President of The Canadian Club of Toronto.