Jurin has seven-point plan to boost Thai-Saudi trade ties

An analysis and report from the Office of Overseas Trade Promotion in Jeddah said that Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week has provided an opportunity to restore bilateral relations, which will enable flexibility in many aspects, such as travel between the two countries, trade, and job opportunities for Thai people.

Mallika said that Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit has a seven-point plan to stimulate trade and relationship with Saudi Arabia. They are:

1. Organising seminars to educate Thai businesses about marketing and consumer behaviour in the open-cultural era of Saudi Arabia under the Saudi Vision 2030 strategy;

2. Organising a trade delegation of businessmen from Thailand to visit Saudi Arabia and from Saudi Arabia to Thailand to strengthen relationships and build networks between them;

3. Organising promotional activities for Thai products with leading supermarkets in Saudi Arabia, such as rice, halal food and fruit, etc, in order to make the products more known among consumers;

4. Invite Thai entrepreneurs to participate in trade shows in Saudi Arabia, such as food and halal products exhibition;

5. Publicise the image of halal food products through online channels;

6. Invite Saudi leaders to join online trade negotiations or online business matching;

7. Invite leaders from Saudi Arabia to join Thai international trade, whether through regular, hybrid, or online format.

Saudi Arabia is a trading market with potential for growth, Mallika said, adding that Jurin has focused on thi

s market from the beginning. In addition to trading with Saudi Arabia, it is also a trade gateway to many other countries in the region, she said.

“They want to restructure the economy by expanding the tourism sector, the service sector, and the joint venture sector, resulting in a large demand for imported products and production capacity. That's an opportunity for Thailand,” Malika said.

Businessmen from both countries are eyeing joint ventures, coupled with the new Saudi Vision 2030 policy, which aims to increase investment.

Saudi Arabia needs investment expertise from Thailand in the fields of farming, with focus on shrimp, fish and chicken raising, hospital operations, hotels, restaurants, franchise businesses. At the same time, Saudi businessmen are also interested in investing in Thailand in the fields of food, energy and mineral products.

Trade between Thailand and Saudi in 2021 was US$7.301 billion, an increase of 31.8 per cent, comprising $1.638 billion of Thai exports and $5.662 billion of imports.

Thailand’s main exports were automobiles, equipment and components, wood and wood products, air-conditioning, rubber products, canned and processed seafood, etc.