PM:Government is upgrading Thailand to become high-income nation

BANGKOK, March 23 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha says that his government has done the best to stimulate the national economy and targeted to lead Thailand to become a high-income nation in the future, from the middle income trap currently. Delivering his speech at the annual general assembly of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok on Monday, Prime Minister General Prayut stressed on the policies, noting that his government is trying to help local farmers, namely selling rubber to China and proceeding with an ASEAN potash mining project to produce cheaper fertilizers for farmers. The prime minister also assured that his government will construct 10 new electric rail tracks, implement a water management scheme and speed up highway expansion to boost trade with neighboring countries, as planned. The prime minister asked FTI members to sell cheaper products with the same quality to help local consumers as well, advising them to do that simply with plain product packages, which should receive a warm welcome from consumers. Meanwhile, Thai Deputy Prime Minister MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, who oversees national economy, told a seminar on digital government and digital economy that official policies on developing digital economy and society have been significantly progressed. The Thai deputy premier assessed that optical fibers should reach all corners of the country within about six months and, consequently, all villages should be connected to the Internet by 2016-2017. (TNA)