H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, hosted a dinner reception in honor to a delegation from the U.S.–ASEAN Business Council on the occasion of their visit to Thailand on 21 July 2016 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Present at the reception were also representatives from Thailand’s governmental agencies, leading trade associations, as well as diplomats from the Embassy of the United States of America in Bangkok.

On this occasion, the Foreign Minister welcomed the delegation and underscored that this visit showed the mutual trust between Thailand and USA. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister informed that Thailand would transform to Thailand 4.0 aiming to overcome the middle-income trap. Mr. Alexander Feldman, President and CEO of USABC expressed his appreciation for a warm welcome from the Thai side and thanked Thailand for continuous facilitation in terms of trade and investment. He also stated that USABC would like to expand the value of long-term investment in Thailand and ASEAN.

U.S. – ASEAN Business Council (USABC) comprises leading American companies, such as, Electric International Operations Company Inc. (GE), Chevron, Ford Motor Company, and UPS. The visit this year includes about 60 representatives from USABC member companies that have invested in Thailand and ASEAN countries and have been long-standing partners towards the economic growth of both Thailand and the ASEAN region. The Council has continuously played an important role in strengthening ties, as well as enhanced trade and investment partnership between Thailand and the United States of America. The Council has organized regular trade missions to Thailand with prominent United States companies that have strong presence and have established businesses in the country with a main goal to promote closer economic cooperation and trade facilitation. During this year’s visit between 21-22 July 2016, the delegation is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Thailand and have discussions with Ministers of relevant line agencies.   

Trade and investment has been one of the key areas cooperation between Thailand and the United States of America. Currently, there are more than 500 American companies operating in Thailand. Foreign Direct Investment from the United States of America totals up to USD 14-15 billion annually and ranks the United States of America as Thailand’s third largest investment partner (after Japan and Singapore).