Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Twekiat Janprajak, the new Executive Director of Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Taipei), visited Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je on April 25, 2022. It was his first time visiting Taipei City Hall since he took office. Director Twekiat Janprajak was promoted from Deputy Chief of Mission for the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore to Executive Director of Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Taipei) last month, and had just completed his mandatory home isolation and self-health management period. He told Mayor Ko that he found Taipei to be a clean, advanced, and comfortable city, with green spaces everywhere.
 
Director Twekiat Janprajak explained to Mayor Ko that Thailand will hold local government elections, including that for the governorship of Bangkok, next month. Many mayoral candidates have focused on “building a smart city” in their campaigns. In view of Taipei’s leading position in smart city initiatives worldwide, he expressed wishes to observe and learn from Taipei and facilitates further exchanges during his term. In this regard, Mayor Ko expressed welcome and invited Director Twekiat Janprajak to visit the newly established Taipei Urban Intelligence Center with his delegation at their convenience.
 
On another note, Mayor Ko mentioned that there are currently 150,000 Taiwanese nationals in Thailand is, second only to the number of Taiwanese nationals in Vietnam. Thailand is a crucial foothold for Taiwanese people in Southeast Asia. The community of Taiwanese nationals in Thailand is ideal for promoting exchanges between the two countries. Mayor Ko also pointed out that, to his knowledge, despite the many Thai restaurants in Taipei City selling various types of Thai cuisine, there seems to be few Thai specialty stores in Taipei. Malaysian businessmen have opened Malaysian food supermarkets in Taipei recently, and he suggested that Director Twekiat Janprajak invite Thai businessmen to open similar businesses in Taipei.
 
The Thai Cultural Festival, extremely popular among Taipei citizens, has been cancelled for the past 2 years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year (2022), the festival will resume and be held at Chianti Avenue Plaza in Xinyi District on April 30. Director Twekiat Janprajak hand-delivered an invitation to Mayor Ko during his visit today, hoping that Mayor Ko would grace the festival’s opening ceremony despite his busy schedule. Director Twekiat Janprajak also expressed his thanks to the Department of Cultural Affairs of Taipei City Government for its support in organizing the Thai Cultural Festival over the years. He invited Taipei citizens to attend the grand event and hoped that the festival can continue to be held in Taipei every year after the pandemic subsides.
 
Director Twekiat Janprajak mentioned that Thailand will enter aged society or hyper-aged society in approximately 10 years, as did Japan. He hopes to exchange ideas on long-term care policies with Taipei and to prepare in advance. In addition, the electric car and electric scooter industry is prospering in Thailand, and Thai operators have a strong interest in cooperating with Taiwanese manufacturers. Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Taipei) will also work with Taipei Computer Association to hold an online forum. Director Twekiat Janprajak looks forward to the diverse opportunities for exchanges between the two nations. Mayor Ko concluded that culture, economics, and trade are the main focus of exchanges between the two nations and that Taipei is open to any ideas or plans that Director Twekiat Janprajak has to offer.
 
Finally, Director Twekiat Janprajak invited Mayor Ko to visit Thailand after the pandemic subsides; he also revealed that many Thai citizens are ready to travel to Taiwan as soon as the pandemic eases. Mayor Ko said that Taiwan will extend courtesy to inbound travelers and joked that there are probably more citizens from Taiwan who want to visit Thailand. Director Twekiat Janprajak responded that Thailand’s tourism economy has been greatly affected by the pandemic and that Thailand welcomes Taiwanese travelers to support its economic recovery.