A meeting between the US Ambassador to Thailand, Michael George DeSombre, and Deputy Prime Minister, Wissanu Krea-ngam, on Wednesday, led to a discussion about a range of issues including the emergency decree extension until the end of June.
The US Ambassador brought up the Thai Government’s decision to extend the emergency decree for another month despite a steep decline in reported coronavirus cases across the country over the past few weeks.
The two men also discussed the bankruptcy reconstruction of Thai Airways International Plc, with almost half of its 200 billion baht debt owed to foreign creditors the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed that the topics were discussed, but said that they were out of “personal interest” rather than in relation to politics. He said:
“The ambassador asked the question because of his curiosity. He has no concern over it. We also discussed a lot of issues including the rehabilitation of Thai Airways.”
Deputy PM Wissanu informed Mr. DeSombre that the emergency decree extension was necessary to maintain disease control measures around the country and it provides the government with the tools to execute orders efficiently.
Wissanu went on to say that the US Ambassador had praised the Thai Government for the way they have handled the covid-19 situation and reaffirmed a pledge to help improve Thai labor skills once restrictions have eased.
Mr. DeSombre has previously stated that he is focused on keeping Thailand’s position as a supply chain base for US companies.
Source: Khaosod
