To my mind, Thailand and Asia are now at a crossroads. Over the past five years, we have restored investors’ confidence and put Thailand back in business. Today, our fundamentals are robust. Foreign reserves, as well as revenues from exports and tax collection, are at a record high. Companies are showing strong profits. Through careful planning, the foundations for our greater economic competitiveness have been laid. However, our borderless world is changing fast, and we cannot remain idle. Over the coming years, Thailand will need strategies to take forward these foundations for sustained growth.
And what precisely is the global situation in which our development is taking place? Without doubt, it is one in which Thailand will need to take risks to invest in the future. On the one hand, continuing uncertainty over energy supplies has meant that oil prices have kept rising. On the other hand, we are also faced with the prospects for the strong growth of Asia, driven by a number of important economies.
