Announcement of Meeting of the Consultative Group for Thailand on September 30, 1970

• RN 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 September 30, 1970 Subject: Meeting of the Consultative Group for Thailand The following announcement was made today by the European Office of the World Bank in Paris : "The Consultative Group on Thailand met in Paris on September 29 and 30, 1970 under t~e chairmanship of the World Bank. The foll~wing ~ountries were represented: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, It,1ly, Japan, New Zealand, the Un~t.ecj, ~_i~gd~!Jl_an~ ·t~~!'".,JJn_!._te~ ~-~at~s. _Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the Un:ited Nations Development Programme and observers from the Asian Development Bank, the Netherlands, Switzerland and • the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also attended the meeting. The Thai delegation was led by the Secretary General, National Economic Development Board, Mr. Renoo Suvarnsit. "The Group last met in 1966. In the following years Thailand 11 s cir~umstances were such that it did not need to look to the Group for addi- tional assistance other than what the member countries provided following that meetb1g. "The Consultative Group heard statements from MF-. Renoo on the economic developments in Thailand d,nce 1966 and the Third Eco- nomic and Social Development Plan which begins in October 1971. "The members of the Group noted the remarkable economic growth of Thailand over the decade of the 1960s, achieved under conditions of • stability. It was recognized that in the current and next year, which /more Unn. Bank P.R. - Meeting of the Consultative Group for Thailand .. 2 - • bring the Second Plan period to a close, the pace of further economic progress tends to slow down. "In order to overcome the present balance of payments problem, ·ex- port promotion was generally accepted to be of crucial importance, together with a more restrained internal monetary and fiscal policy. Thailand's existing foreign exchange reserves provide time to formulate and implemen~ programs to adjust the Thai economy to the new circumstances. "Th_e meeting agreed that _the increased inflow of external capital and ehe ensuing rise of debt service liabilities had not in any.way reduced Thailand's creditworthiness. The necessity of larger capital inflows, of which the major part is expected in the priv~te sector during the next Five- Year Plan period was recognized. In this regard, the maintenance of a good investment climate was considered of importance. • "The amount of public capital inflows as suggested by the Govern- ment of Thailand and endorsed in the Bank's economic report was considered r-~alistic. "The meeting agreed that in the next twelve mouths the efforts of the Government and the Group should be directed toward the study and prepara- t::.on of programs and projects for inclusion in the Third Development Plan. During 1971 the Bank will review economic developments in Thailand and the Third Five-Year Development Plan. A report will be distributed to the G·rnup prior to the next meeting which it was agreed should be held late in 1971." - 0 - •