Thaksin Shinawatra Charts a Bold Course for Thailand’s Economic Resilience

At a landmark forum titled “Unlocking Thailand’s Future: The Next Economic Chapter”, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra delivered a sweeping economic vision for the country, calling for innovation-driven growth, institutional modernization, and national resilience in the face of global instability. Speaking before policymakers, academics, and business leaders, he laid out a six-pillar roadmap aimed at repositioning Thailand on the global economic map.

While Thaksin emphasized that his address did not mark a return to frontline politics, his proposals carried the weight of a statesman intimately familiar with the machinery of governance — and deeply concerned about the country’s direction.

Building Economic Resilience in an Uncertain World

Thaksin opened his remarks with a blunt diagnosis: the global order is in flux, and Thailand must act with urgency to avoid being left behind. He identified critical vulnerabilities — mounting household debt, stagnating productivity, a fragmented public administration — and called for a fundamental transformation in the way Thailand manages its economy and state.

Among his proposals was the creation of a national “economic coordinator” to ensure cross-ministerial coherence and faster implementation of reforms, echoing his past preference for performance-based, CEO-style governance.

Technological Sovereignty and National Defense

A significant portion of the address focused on the need for future-proof security — not just militarily, but economically and digitally. Thaksin advocated for major investments in cyber defense capabilities, protection against global supply chain disruptions, and an overhaul of Thailand’s SME credit system to prevent a surge in non-performing loans.

He also proposed public-private partnerships to foster strategic autonomy in key technologies like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy infrastructure — positioning Thailand not only as a regional hub for innovation, but as a sovereign actor in an increasingly polarized world.

Empowering Local Economies and Digital Natives

Thaksin’s vision also includes a bottom-up transformation of the economy. He proposed the expansion of local development funds, the use of digital platforms to connect rural producers to urban and global markets, and support for “grassroots creators” — citing the influence of TikTok entrepreneurs as examples of untapped potential.

The idea is not merely to redistribute resources, but to cultivate local innovation ecosystems across provinces, turning every village into a node of productivity and creativity.

Health, Tourism and the Rise of the Creative Economy

Addressing Thailand’s soft power, Thaksin called for a renewed focus on medical innovation and health tourism — including advanced fields like stem cell therapy and gene-based treatments. He proposed attracting international talent and investors through a revamped Golden Visa program, designed to inject capital into strategic sectors and upscale the country’s human capital. He also pledged to expand the aviation and logistics industries to cement Thailand’s place as a global destination and a regional logistics hub.”

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