Secretariat, Taipei City Government

On May 18, Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) Executive Director Twekiat Janprajak, TTEO Deputy Executive Director Sunh Arunrugstichai, and 11 TTEO staff visited Mayor Chiang and the Taipei City Government team at Taipei City Hall, where the two parties exchanged views and shared information on various municipal issues.

During the meeting, Mayor Chiang highlighted the close relationship between the Taipei City Government and the TTEO. He personally attended the Amazing Thailand Festival 2023 event and expressed his sincere gratitude toward Executive Director Janprajak and his team for their meticulous planning. The event effectively captured the traditional festive atmosphere of Thailand and allowed visitors to experience the richness and vibrancy of Thai culture. Executive Director Janprajak also specially thanked Mayor Chiang and the Taipei City Government team for supporting the Thai Festival. The event attracted approximately 100,000 participants and was a great success. Commissioner Tsai Shih-Ping of Department of Cultural Affairs also expressed that the Taipei City Government and the TTEO have been jointly organizing Thai Festival for many years. Commissioner Tsai also stressed that they will continue to promote and expand the scale of the event in the future, thereby increasing exchanges between the two parties in areas such as film, fashion, and food culture.

Mayor Chiang indicated that approximately 150,000 Taiwanese are currently living in Thailand, making it a key hub for Taiwanese people in Southeast Asia; this number is second only to Indonesia in terms of the overseas Taiwanese population in a foreign Asian country. In addition, Taiwan and Thailand conduct frequent tourism exchanges. In the first quarter of 2023, Taiwan received more than 80,000 Thai visitors, and this number will continue to increase and hit a new high. Executive Director Janprajak responded by highlighting the recent launch of direct flights between Taiwan and Phuket Island, and he personally visited Phuket Island to help promote tourism in that region. Phuket Island is a major tourism hub in Thailand, with numerous residents who are descendants of Fujian, Hakka, and Teochew immigrants, making it culturally similar to Taiwan. Both parties can consider increasing cooperation in the areas of industry development, investment, and culture.

Executive Director Janprajak further illustrated that approximately 5,000 Taiwanese business enterprises are currently operating in Thailand, and Taiwan is ranked among the top five countries in terms of investment in Thailand. He also shared recent cooperation plans involving famous Taiwanese companies such as Chunghwa Telecom and Hon Hai Technology. Commissioner Chen Chun-An of Department of Economic Development stated that the Taipei City Government plans to organize events promoting overseas investment in Thailand, Vietnam, India, and other countries in late July this year. The Thai market is highly valued by the Taipei City Government, which hopes to engage in more collaborations in the field of sustainable economy in the future.

Finally, Mayor Chiang emphasized the recent remark made by Executive Director Janprajak to the media, who expected strengthening ties between Taiwan and Thailand in tourism, trade, and culture under the banner of “Double T,” which represents both Taiwan and Thailand. Mayor Chiang looks forward to the strengthening of Taipei City’s friendly relationships with several Thai cities with the assistance of Executive Director Janprajak.