That was written in the early years of the Prayut administation. The Eastern Economic Corridor, one of the flagship policies of the Prayut administration, became much less frequently discussed after the departure of former deputy prime minister Somkid Jatusripitak from government.
The government, of course, has not stopped trying to generate a new national strategy. Last year, Prayut announced a new three-pronged economic strategy , a pillar of which is turning Thailand into a global hub for producing electric vehicles. In December, the Prayut cabinet also greenlighted a plan to take Thailand towards developed country status by the year Part of the plan involves supporting research and development in science, technology, and innovation.
In addition, providing education and skills training for a workforce fit to innovate remains a matter of grave concern. Where this has been discussed, the policy offerings have often been vague. So what have the other parties said? Move Forward, on the other hand, has released over policy proposals, but aside from promising to jump-start a domestic chips industry, relatively few have to do with supporting Thai-led innovation.
Perhaps an issue is that when the parties think of innovation, they think not in terms of economic restructuring for a more competitive Thailand. That is why, at an event ostensibly to discuss innovation policy, some parties talked about carbon credits, using big data, or even paying water bills online. These are innovative policies, to be sure, and all good things. But are they policies that support the fundamental goal of pushing Thailand towards an innovation-driven economy? What is heartening is that several parties do recognize the need to seek out new economic engines for Thailand.
Both Move Forward and Chart Pattana Kla, for example, are proposing new budgets to support the creative industries. Taking Thailand to developed country status and coming up with a credible program of economic restructuring in an increasingly competitive world, in a rush to make sure an aging Thailand grows rich before we grow old, is mission critical.
