Source: Business Mirror, 19 January 2012
By Mia M. Gonzalez
The Bangkok government will support Thai firms keen on participating in the Philippines’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.
This was the assurance given President Aquino by visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra when they met and talked on Thursday.
The two leaders also agreed to expand cooperation in education, the fight against drug trafficking, and disaster- risk reduction and management.
“Thailand is ready to provide support to Thai investors who wish to invest in the Philippines under the Public-Private Partnership programs,” Shinawatra said in a statement after an expanded meeting between Philippine and Thai officials in Malacañang.
In his statement, Mr. Aquino said that he invited Thai companies to invest in the PPP program.
“The private sector is a vital partner in fulfilling our growth and development objectives. The government is committed to providing the enabling environment for private-sector participation through public-private partnerships,” he said.
Shinawatra expressed Thailand’s appreciation for “the Philippines’s high support for Thai investors and willingness to remove some of restrictions on trade and investment.”
She also informed Philippine officials that Thailand, the world’s top rice exporter, is prepared to increase its rice supply to the Philippines.
“Thailand is also ready to export more rice to the Philippines as part of our cooperation on food security,” she said.
Shinawatra and Mr. Aquino expressed satisfaction with the work of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which Mr. Aquino said will allow both governments “to substantially discuss ways to further strengthen the implementation of our existing cooperation in the areas of energy, agriculture, defense and culture.”
“We are pleased that the draft convention on the avoidance of the double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income is expected to be signed at the next meeting of the joint commission,” Shinawatra said.
To guarantee the “concrete outcome” of her talks with Mr. Aquino, Shinawatra said that she has assigned her foreign minister and the Thai ambassador to the Philippines to follow up on what was discussed.
Mr. Aquino said that with the global economic uncertainty, it has become “more” imperative for countries in the region to work together “to make sure that our region not only stays afloat, but also makes marked progress over the next few years.”
“The challenge for our neighborhood is to maximize our gains, by strengthening trade liberalization and investment facilitation; and it comforts me that we have a partner like Thailand in this endeavor,” he said.
Mr. Aquino said the economic resilience being experienced by the Philippines and Thailand is “the product of our shared commitment to free trade and investment.”
The President also said he and Shinawatra “agreed to further expand our functional cooperation in key areas such as education, combating drug trafficking, and disaster-risk reduction and management.”
He thanked Thailand for its assistance to the Philippines following the extensive damaged wreaked by Typhoon Sendong last year.
Shinawatra extended Thailand’s condolences to the Philippines on the casualties of Sendong, and thanked the government for its assistance to flood victims in Bangkok also last year.
“These floods remind us that we must work closely together to protect our people from national disasters,” she said.
She also said that during the meeting, she congratulated Mr. Aquino “on the success of the anti-corruption policy under his leadership.”
Mr. Aquino said that he further discussed with Shinawatra, the “position of the Philippines” on the issue
of the South China Sea and reiterated the government’s position that “a rules-based approach is the only legitimate way to address the disputes in the West Philippine Sea.”
The President feted Shinawatra and her delegation to a luncheon in her honor at Malacañang’s Rizal Hall, where he noted, in his toast, that the Thai leader—like his mother, the late President Corazon C. Aquino—was the first female leader of her country.
“I wish you and your administration to be as resilient, as unifying and as hopeful as hers,” he said.
In her toast, Shinawatra specially mentioned world-famous Filipino celebrities Manny Pacquiao and Lea Salonga, and said that “as a fellow Southeast Asian, we share your pride in the achievement of those famous Filipinos.”
Among the guests at the luncheon were the President’s sister Kris, who was apparently impressed with the 44-year-old Thai leader, and believed her to be a good match for her brother.
In her Twitter account, the actress and television host tweeted, “Came from Malacañang. Lunch for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She’s tall & slim & attractive! 44 yrs old, bagay for PNoy!”
Asked whether he shared Ms. Aquino’s view, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a text message, “It’s beyond my competence!”
While she is unmarried, Shinawatra has a common-law husband, Anusorn Amornchat, with whom she has a son.
Shinawatra arrived at Villamor Airbase at around 9:45 a.m. and proceeded to the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park for a wreath-laying ceremony, then to Malacañang for a welcome ceremony.
After her luncheon reception in Malacañang, she went back to Villamor Airbase for her flight back to Bangkok.
