Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guest, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a great pleasure for me to attend this gathering and to extend to you all the good wishes of the People of Thailand. On behalf of the Government of Thailand and on behalf of the Ministry of Labour, I express my sincere appreciation to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security of the People’s Republic of China and the International labour Office for organizing this significant event.

The Royal Thai government, under the leadership of the Prime Minister, His Excellency, Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra, has carried out many policies aimed at achieving high and sustained economic growth, maintaining high levels of employment and reducing poverty. I am especially delighted to learn that the main topic for this forum is how to make employment a central policy

According to the latest figures in February 2004, the total population of Thailand was estimated to be 64.36 million, of which 54 % or 34.95 million were labour force.The latest estimation is that 96% of labour force or 33.75 million were employed and 2.4% of labour force or 830,000 were unemployed.

However, despite high economic growth and low unemployment rate, the Royal Thai Government is very much aware that the employment is the key to alleviating poverty and an important stride towards greater social integration. Therefore, we are trying to retain and enhance the workforce’s abilities and their employability.

Regarding Employment Promotion Policy, the Royal Thai Government is trying to create and extend the opportunities accessible by every segment of the society in order to develop entrepreneurship.The government has promoted a “One Tambol One Product” project –or OTOP to enable each community to develop its own local products based on local wisdom. In parallel with the OTOP Policy, the Ministry of Labour through Skills Development Centers, has provided skills training services to the community. Since 2001, more than 10,000 trainees have been equipped with appropriate skills required in their community. The Ministry also assists the community in exhibiting and selling their products. Needless to say that OTOP has turned out to be one of the most successful policy.

Mr. Chairman

Another recent endeavour made by the Ministry is the Project on

Part Time Job for Students during their vacation. This project aims at encouraging the students to work during their vacation and utilise their free time in order to gain working experience and learn about working life, including prepare them for the future employment. Over 50,000 students have been provided jobs.

The government has introduced Unemployment Insurance Scheme to be launched for the first time in Thailand on 1st July 2004. It is expected to alleviate unemployment problems to help ease their living and prepare themselves for demanded skill. This policy should lead to better quality of life for all employees in Thailand.

Realising the importance of employment as a central policy, the Ministry will continue its endeavour in promoting employment, raising the entrepreneurial spirit, protecting workers, providing social security and ensuring fair treatment in Thailand.

On behalf of the Royal Thai government, kindly permit me once again to express our sincere appreciation to you all for making this meeting possible. I am convinced that the sharing of experiences and discussion in each session will prove to be of great benefit to current efforts to promote employment at global level.