Deputy Minister of Commerce Introduced “Thailand 4.0 Policy” to Milken Institute

On  2 November, 2016 Dr. Suvit  Maesincee, Deputy Minister of Commerce held a meeting with Mr. Ross Deval, Chief Researcher of the Milken Institute, a leading economic think-tank based in  the United States and the Board Members of the Institute. Mr. Pisan Manawapat, Ambassador of Thailand to the United States, Mr. Tanee Sangrat, Consul General of Thailand, Los Angeles, and representatives from the private sectors including those from World Trade Center in Los Angeles, NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Zodiac Aerospace, Oracle and AT&T joined the meeting.

 

Deputy Minister Maesincee introduced the “Thailand 4.0 Policy” which attaches importance to moving the country from an agricultural and light & heavy industrial society to a society that is driven by high technology, creativity and innovation. Thailand will focus on foreign investments and put in practice the use of technological know-how  from the United States to the Thai society. Five areas of economic sectors include: (1) Agro-based, food, agriculture and bio-tech, (2) Health, wellness and bio-medical, (3) Mechatronics, smart devices, and robotics, (4) Embedded technology, digital technology and artificial intelligence, and (5) Service design, technology services and high-value-service.

 

Representatives from the Milken Institute and members of the private sectors exchanged views on further cooperation that:  (1) Thailand can use the country’s strength and best practices to attract foreign investors to build venture capital, (2) Learn from experiences in  Silicon Valley to develop the startup companies in Thailand which will drive Thailand towards the “Thailand 4.0 Policy”,(3) Encourage Thai graduates in the United States to come back and work in Thailand, and (4) Ambassador Manawapat proposed that Milken Institute cooperates with the Royal Thai Government to organize Thailand 4.0 as one theme in its annual global conference in Los Angeles or Singapore.  To prepare for the initiative, he invited Milken Institute to send researchers to visit Thailand and have more meetings with Dr. Suvit and other stakeholders.

 

Royal Thai Consulate – General Los Angeles