Thailand seeks OECD membership with Germany’s support

Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced the country’s ambition to gain membership in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He sought Germany’s support for this endeavour during a joint press conference with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin.

Government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke outlined the meeting’s details, indicating that Chancellor Scholz expressed Germany’s interest in bolstering relations, especially in the economic arena, with Southeast Asian nations.

He highlighted the over 20% growth in bilateral commerce between Thailand and Germany. Furthermore, Scholz showed a willingness to contemplate backing Thailand’s OECD membership aspirations, which could simplify the path towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Thailand and the European Union.

Prime Minister Srettha voiced optimism about mutual trade and investment promotion between the two countries through a Thai-EU FTA. The 62 year old Thai PM expressed hope that Germany would endorse Thailand’s OECD membership bid and support its efforts to secure visa-free travel arrangements with European Schengen area states.

The prime minister also reiterated Thailand’s commitment to fostering political, economic, and social stability in line with predictable, rules-based democratic processes to enhance global confidence.

The leaders agreed to upgrade Thailand-Germany relations to a strategic partnership level, with more information to be discussed under an established bilateral dialogue mechanism.

Under this strategic alliance, Thailand anticipates augmented cooperation across a broader spectrum, including regional collaboration with ASEAN and in the Indo-Pacific. It is also expected to foster partnerships for sustainable development to tackle prevalent challenges, reported Bangkok Post.

The leaders concurred on bolstering cooperation in clean energy sectors such as solar, wind, and water power generation, and green hydrogen. Collaboration in electric vehicles (EV) was also discussed, particularly EV manufacturing, technology transfer, and the promotion of related industries.

Prime Minister Srettha further confirmed the government’s dedication to sustaining Germany’s investment in conventional internal combustion engines and hybrid vehicle production.