Thailand, Singapore discuss economic ties, no deals yet
Thailand, Singapore discuss economic ties, no deals yet
Associated Press, Phuket, Thailand
The leaders of Thailand and Singapore expressed broad
agreement over the weekend on the need for political and economic
cooperation but committed to few specific plans.
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been holding an
informal retreat in the southern Thai resort of Phuket with his
Singaporean counterpart, Goh Chok Tong.
The meeting was one of a series promoted by Thaksin to
strengthen ties within ASEAN, the 10-country Association of
Southeast Asian Nations. Thailand held a similar meeting last
month with Malaysia.
In the run-up to the talks, Thai officials had touted several
specific schemes on which Singapore's cooperation would be
solicited.
They included the establishment of an Asian bond market and
Singapore's assistance in making the northern Thai city of Chiang
Mai into a regional aviation hub.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Thaksin said he was
optimistic about the plans, while Goh shied away from unqualified
support.
The two leaders expressed agreement on big-picture issues
concerning ASEAN's future, particularly economic cooperation.
Thaksin said Singapore sought to strengthen bilateral
cooperation "to enhance our competitiveness in a win-win
situation."
The two countries' economies are complementary because
Singapore is a small, industrialized island state and Thailand a
major agricultural producer. "We hope that finally we can mesh
our ASEAN economies to keep our competitiveness in the world,"
Goh said.
The two leaders both said that they viewed with concern North
Korea's withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Thaksin said that he expects to be able to announce details of
an Asian bond scheme by June of this year.
The scheme would involve creating a fund to invest in bonds
traded on a regional basis, which would create linkages between
supply and demand and facilitate capital flow in the region. The
goal would be to help stabilize regional currencies.
Thaksin said his government would discuss the scheme with
other regional governments over the next two months, and expected
to come up with final details of its format in March.