Thailand and Australia have forged an agreement to bolster collaboration across various sectors including trade, investment, tourism, and technology. Discussions centered on enhancing the existing Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement to better align with present circumstances, resulting in a notable 186 percent surge in trade between the two nations.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin engaged in talks with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit held in Melbourne from March 4th to 6th. Prime Minister Srettha expressed Thailand’s keenness to glean insights from Australia’s expertise in agriculture, clean energy, electric vehicles, and smart industries, highlighting Thailand’s aspiration to emulate Australian best practices in these domains. Conversely, Prime Minister Albanese hailed Thailand as a pivotal strategic ally for Australia.
Prime Minister Srettha underscored Thailand’s readiness to formalize a memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation with Australia, advocating for an increase in direct flights and work and holiday visa quotas between the two countries. In the realm of education, Thailand proposed the establishment of Australian educational institution branches in the country, emphasizing personnel exchange and collaborative vocational education programs.
Acknowledging Thailand’s substantial export of over 200,000 automobiles to Australia annually, Prime Minister Srettha urged for a phased implementation of Australia’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES). This transition would enable Thai auto manufacturers to adjust to electric vehicle production in accordance with NVES regulations.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Srettha extended proposals to facilitate labor mobility between the two nations, including accommodating Australian digital nomads seeking to work remotely from Thailand and facilitating Thai laborers’ employment in Australian industries experiencing shortages. Additionally, Thailand suggested the possibility of temporary employment opportunities for Thai farmers in Australia, particularly during harvest seasons, either as a pilot project or in response to specific labor demands.
Both countries also pledged to enhance military technology exchange and personnel development while intensifying cooperation under the ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking program, aimed at combatting human trafficking, modern slavery, and forced labor across the region.
