The 6th Thailand-Taiwan Industrial Cooperation Dialogue was held in Taipei, Taiwan on 29th November 2022 after 2 years of the pandemics. Dr. Chuan-Neng Lin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs led the Ministry of Economic Affairs along with the Ministry of Labor and related authorities for conducting an industry dialogue with Mr. Dheerayut Varnitshang, Vice Minister of Thailand Ministry of Industry and subordinate units and research institutes.
Thailand has been a long-standing partner in our New Southbound Policy. According to the statistics, the bilateral trade volume between Taiwan and Thailand has reached $12.98 billion in 2021, making it our 13th largest trading partner. Many ICT companies such as New Kinpo Group, Quanta Computer and Delta Electronics have already invested in Thailand. There were 13 cases of Taiwanese investments in Thailand, amounted to $340 million, and ranked as the 5th largest foreign direct investment in 2021, highlighting the increasing trend of economic and trading activities between Taiwan and Thailand.
In the opening session, Vice Minister Dr. Chuan-Neng Lin indicated that the green economy and net-zero emission policy that Taiwan has adopted, are consistent with the Thai policy of Bio-Circular-Green economy model. In the field of electric vehicles, Foxconn and PTT have invested $1 billion for establishing joint venture company Horizon Plus, and have planned to build an EV plant in eastern Thailand and create an EV industry ecosystem. In the new round of industrial development and investment, Taiwan will promote the enhancement of resilience supply chain and assist companies in production base transferring. The bilateral cooperation and communication will be strengthened and deepened between the industries of both sides.
Mr. Dheerayut Varnitshang, Vice Minister of Thailand Ministry of Industry has also expressed his excitement for the consensus on establishing working groups on new issues including electric bus, electric vehicle safety, circular economy, electric motorcycles and lithium-ion battery. It is expected to bring huge benefits for industries if both sides.
Taiwan and Thailand have also reviewed the current status of MOUs and Roadmap for Industrial Cooperation projects signed in the past. In the food industry, both sides agreed to cooperate more on the development of health functional food such as probiotics. In the textile industry, both sides would promote the establishment of standards and certification of the textile. In the vocational training program, "robotics" has been set as a priority. Moreover, both sides have also exchanged opinions on issues including EV industry, circular economy and smart manufacturing. The 6th Thailand-Taiwan Industrial Cooperation Dialogue has become an official platform for Taiwan and Thailand to communicate on the industrial cooperation issues. Through this platform, both sides will continue to promote the industry and technology collaboration, development and investment, establish mutually beneficial business relationships, and expand the market jointly for prosperous future.
Sources: MOEA