Last week in Bangkok I had the great pleasure of meeting HE Supamas Isarabhakdi, Minister responsible for the Prime Minister’s Office in Thailand together with my colleague Dr Worawut Kongsilp, Vice Chairman of Renaissance International Partners.
Our exchange focused on how the economic relationship between Thailand and the Gulf countries might be strengthened in a more strategic and sustained manner.
This is already a substantial relationship. According to trade figures supported by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the 2025 ASEAN - GCC Joint Declaration, Thailand’s trade with the GCC is currently valued at more than US$40 billion a year while ASEAN - GCC trade reached US$130.7 billion in 2023, making the GCC one of ASEAN’s largest trading partners.
Thailand has much to offer: a skilled workforce, an established manufacturing base, strong agricultural and food-processing capabilities, expanding digital infrastructure and a natural position as a gateway into ASEAN. The Gulf brings complementary strengths in capital, energy, logistics, technology and global connectivity.
The opportunities extend across renewable energy, digital infrastructure, ports and logistics, agritech, healthcare, tourism and education. Yet identifying broad areas of common interest is not, by itself, sufficient. Major investors require a credible pipeline of bankable projects, each with identified sponsors, realistic timelines and appropriate investment structures.
We discussed the potential value of a Thailand - UAE investment platform supported by a small high-level joint task force involving selected Thai and UAE institutions.
The opportunity is considerable and increasingly relevant in today’s changing geopolitical environment. The next step is to convert strategic alignment into a number of clearly defined and executable projects.
