On 21 July 2021 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the Embassy of Japan co-organised the webinar on “Envisioning the Future: Thailand-Japan Strategic Economic Partnership”. The objective was to provide a platform for exchange of views among high-level representatives from the public, private and academic sectors on how Thailand and Japan can enhance economic cooperation under the current opportunities and challenges at bilateral, sub-regional and regional levels. The webinar was well-attended by 978 participants. The gist is as follows:

H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, delivered a keynote speech on “Way forward for Thailand-Japan Relations in the post COVID-19 World”. Emphasising close ties in every dimension between Thailand and Japan for over 134 years of true friendship, he noted that both countries had together gone through many challenges and always extended each other helping hands. In particular, the Covid-19 pandemic which has widely impacted the economy, society as well as wellbeing of people, have made both sides realise that moving forward, development must be pursued with focus on sustainable and inclusive growth in order to create peace, prosperity and sustainable wellness for people across all economic zones, regions and the world at large.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand also proposed ways for cooperation with Japan in order to further strengthen the strategic economic partnership. He emphasised the importance of synergising Thailand’s new growth paradigm, the BCG Economy Model, with Japan’s Green Growth Strategy in four main areas, namely: (1) Transformation of Thailand’s automobile industry to the complete Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) industry; (2) Bio-Cycle creation consisting of Bio-Fuel and Bio-Mass in economic circuit (3) Smart food industry and (4) BCG entrepreneurship incubation as well as skilled labour development in BCG related industries.

H.E. Mr. NASHIDA Kazuya, Ambassador of Japan to Thailand gave a special lecture on “Towards a new stage of Japan-Thailand cooperation”. He underscored the everlasting friendship between Thailand and Japan through thick and thin especially when Japan was hit by disaster including great earthquake and tsunami and when Thailand faced severe flooding over a decade ago. In these situations, both countries had shown true generosity in helping each other. Recently, Japan also granted one million and fifty thousand doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand and provided different kinds of assistance to help support the efforts by the Royal Thai Government in coping with the Covid-19 situation.

Furthermore, Ambassador NASHIDA also stressed the importance of Thailand as a long-term key production base for Japanese companies. He noted that looking ahead, Thailand and Japan should focus their cooperation in new areas especially on: (1) Establishing the Co-Creation partnerhip which focuses on enhancing collaboration and social development through brainstorming, finding constructive resolutions, bridging the gaps, and creating innovations; and (2) Strengthening and mobilising industrial sector towards sustainability by setting up a fund valued at 2 trillion yen (approximately 18.1 billion USD) for the private sector to conduct R&D in carbon neutral technology to create low carbon society by 2050 in line with Thailand’s flagship BCG Model which aims to stimulate the expansion of new businesses and investments from Japan.

During the webinar, a panel discussion was conducted under the theme of “What now & What next: Thailand-Japan Strategic Economic Partnership in Challenging Time”. Among the panelists were: (1) Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeaw, Special Advisor of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EECO), former Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs and former Ambassador of Thailand to Japan; (2) Mr. Chirapan Oulapathorn, Chairman, Thai – Japanese Industrial Cooperation Institute; (3) Mr. Aree Chavalitcheewingul, President Cementhai Holding Co., Ltd.; (4) Ms. YURUGI Yoshiko,Chief Representative of Asian Representative Office in Bangkok, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO); (5) Prof. Dr. OIZUMI Keiichiro, Professor, Institute for Asian Studies, Asia University; (6) Mr. CHOKKI Morikazu, Chairman, Mitsubishi Motors (Thailand) Co., Ltd.; and (7) Mr. MORITA Keisuke, Managing Director, Spiber (Thailand) Ltd.

The panelists exchanged views on how to create value to the future Thailand-Japan Strategic Partnership. They highlighted, among others, the importance of synergising Thailand’s BCG Economy Model and Japan’s Green Growth Strategy by working together on related industries, particularly ZEV and bio-industries, through human resource and high-skilled labour development and implementation of digital technology with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) as the targeted area. In addition, in order to secure Japanese investment and Thailand’s position as the key regional production base with well-equipped infrastructures and abundant natural resources for Japan, the two governments need to set firm directions for future economic cooperation. In this regard, a Five-Year Joint Strategic Plan on Thailand-Japan Strategic Partnership should be formulated, which would coincide with the occasion of the 135th anniversary of the establishment of Thailand-Japan diplomatic relations in 2022. At the same time, both sides should also capitalize on the huge Japanese business community in Thailand to move forward their mutually beneficial partnership.