Thailand should brace for the changes that the launch of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) connectivity plan will bring so the country may take advantage of the opportunities and cope with the crises, an academic said recently.
The national government should prepare for the implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in a few years, or Thailand would lag behind other countries, said Visanu Vongsinsirikul, director of Dhurakij Pundit University’s Asean Community Preparation Centre (ACPC), in a news report published on the Bangkok Shipowners and Agents Association’s website on January 24.
“Thailand has advantages over other Asean countries in terms of geographical features, weather, races and cost of living. The question is how can we make use of the advantages we have?” he said.
“Foreign languages, English in particular, are our big problem. But we can learn them,” he said.
The government should put preparing for the AEC on the national agenda, he said. “Prime Minister (Yingluck Shinawatra) should assign each ministry to study what it should do and present its own proposals to the premier. Then, the ministries implement the proposals. If the government tries to achieve good preparation and successfully does that, it will be the government’s great accomplishment.”
ACPC is trying to educate people about the ASEAN community, including the AEC, to help them understand ASEAN and inspire them to find possible opportunities in the new setup, the report said.
