Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered a welcome address at the “Virtual Mission Southeast Asia” meeting. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasised the striking of balance between public health measures and promotion of economic activities during the COVID-19 situation, and the readiness to support Dutch investors.

On 14 October 2020, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, delivered a welcome address via pre-recorded video in the session: “Doing business in Thailand” at the “Virtual Mission Southeast Asia” hosted by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Virtual Mission Southeast Asia, taking place during 12 October - 11 December 2020, through website: https://virtual-mission-asean5.b2match.io, is a seminar and meeting forum in teleconference platform to promote economic activities between the Netherlands and ASEAN-5 (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam) countries. Activities include the dissemination of the Netherlands’ economic policy and the organizing of business matching opportunities focusing on (1) agri-food production (2) water management and (3) waste management and circular economy. Participants include the business sectors from the Netherlands and ASEAN-5 countries.

On this occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned that Thailand has been trying to strike a balance between public health measures and promotion of economic activities during the COVID-19 situation. Thailand and the Netherlands have been friends for over 400 years. The Netherlands has been an important investor in Thailand for extended period of time and Thailand has the potential to support Dutch investment expansion especially in the fields of food, agriculture, biotechnology and digital economy in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and as well as providing a bridge linking to ASEAN. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand stands ready to facilitate Dutch investors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also gave support to the “Thailand NOW” website launched recently which showcases business and investment promotion topics.