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No Change in Foreign Policy, But More Self-Reliance: Thai PM
Thailand's new government will not change the foreign policy and shut the door before foreigners, but it will stress more on self-reliance and make the country to be a honored member of the international community, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday.
"The international assistance is mutual and every nation is independent, so interference into other countries' internal affairs under the name of aid can not be accepted, " he said in a speech at a meeting of Thai's envoys to foreign countries.
Some eighty Thai ambassadors and consul-generals to 58 countries attended the event.
"Thailand will accept foreign aid, but it will not be totally obedient to foreign donors," said the premier. "To promote national revival is our basic principle," he said.
He said the government believes that the country's development can only be achieved through the combined efforts of reducing domestic poverty and actively participating in globalization.
"We must work out a strategy for the country's development as soon as possible, in order to speed up development and catch up with the global trend," the premier stressed.
Urging the envoys to conduct a kind of "economic diplomacy," Thaksin said they should focus more on Asia, especially Southeast Asia, and Africa, while endeavoring to increase foreign investment, develop tourism and boost economic recovery.
He also briefed the audience on the government's measures and policies in the financial sector, drug-suppression, rural development and social welfare.
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