Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told journalist during a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel on Wednesday night that his administration was giving priority to deploy more of his countrymen to the construction industry here where they excel in the manpower pool.
Vejjajiva said his country is keen on having more Thai construction companies in Qatar where the industry will bring their own workers from their country, an effort that would boost trade ties between the two countries after a memorandum of understanding was reached for the setting up of a joint higher committee for international cooperation.
At present, there are about 12,000 skilled and semi-skilled Thai expatriates working in Qatar mostly employed in the construction, oil and gas and other major industries.
Thailand however is not allowing domestic helpers to work here unlike their ASEAN neighbours such as the Philippines and Indonesia.
Improving the labour sector for his country is part of the Thai premier’s economic recovery stimulus packages which he projected that when it comes full effect, the country’s economy is seen to grow at the normal rate of 4-5 percent per year of which the positive impacts is creation of about 1.5 million jobs in the next five years.
The two stimulus packages Vejjajjiva’s administration is pursuing is part of their medium to long-term development plan to strengthen Thailand’s economy and regain global competitiveness by 2012.
To boost it economy, Thailand has been pushing to improve its international trade ties especially with the Middle East countries where it is focusing on exporting more rice to enhance its role in global food security.
Vejjajiva said they are also developing the technical advancement of Halal technology including food manufacturing processes and products with the establishment of the state-of-the-art Halal Science Centre of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok hoping that such technology would gain wide patronage among Middle East countries.
