Australia Supports Continued Aid to Thailand

MEDIA RELEASE

Released By:
Downer

I am pleased to announce that Australia has today signed two Memoranda with the Royal Thai Government for two new development cooperation projects which will bring Australian and Thai institutions together to work to promote economic and social development. I was pleased to be able to witness the signing ceremony with my colleague HE Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, as part of the Ministerial Economic Commission meeting between Thailand and Australia.

Under the Strengthening of Macro-Economic Statistics Project, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will work with three key Thai organisations to help improve the production of key macroeconomic statistics. The ABS will work with the National Statistical Office, National Economic and Social Development Board and the Bank of Thailand to upgrade the statistical capacities of these organisations.

The Democratic Governance Support Program will support and strengthen Thailand's key institutions of democratic governance. The initial round of activities will assist the Office of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Office of Judicial Affairs and the Thai Arbitration Institute. These activities will be implemented by Australia's Centre for Democratic Institutions (CDI), which I established last year to encourage the exchange of ideas and experiences of democracy in the region.

I am pleased also to announce today that Australia will continue our pledge of bilateral development assistance totalling $17 million per year. Our initial two year pledge, which was in direct response to the Asian financial crisis, was due to expire at the end of this financial year. I have agreed to continue this support to the end of 2000-01.

Under the continued program of development assistance, I have today announced the establishment of an Australian Community Assistance Scheme (ACAS). This Scheme will provide funding for community development activities and particularly activities targeted to women, children and other vulnerable groups.

The Australian Government has also offered to contribute $760,000 to a proposed ASEAN/Asian Development Bank activity to assist ASEAN countries in economic surveillance. The initiative will help ASEAN countries track and monitor key trends and identify early warning signs of emerging problems.

NAKHAN SI THAMMARAT, SOUTHERN THAILAND