Trade and Investment Sector
(Trade & Investment Facilitation)
Background and Principles
Trade & Investment Facilitation focuses on facilitating trade and investment and linking trade and investment for seamless cross-border production and reduced transaction costs. The Working Group on Trade and Investment Facilitation (WGTI) serves as the primary mechanism, with the Ministry of Commerce (Department of Foreign Trade) as Thailand’s lead coordinating agency. The goal is to establish IMT-GT as a seamless and competitive trade and investment hub. This includes the Sub-Working Group of Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) to promote the development and improvement of facilitation regulations, and the Sub-Working Group on Trade, Investment and Tourism Database (ITITD), responsible for collecting and processing statistical data on trade, investment, and tourism for each country. Additionally, there is a Project Implementation Team on Rubber Cities and Rubber Cooperation to promote investment and innovation within the subregion’s rubber industry.
The Working Group on Trade and Investment aims to reduce cross-border trade barriers, expand trade and investment, and establish a network of interconnected and competitive economic zones.
Implementing Agencies for Thailand’s Working Group on Trade and Investment Facilitation
- Ministry of Commerce (Department of Foreign Trade)
- Ministry of Finance (Thai Customs)
- Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
- Royal Thai Police
- Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
- Ministry of Industry
- Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (National Statistical Office)
- NESDC
- Other relevant agencies
Strategic Issues
Promote transparency by sharing information on trade measures and new trade initiatives.*
Establish coordination guidelines to support cross-border trade facilitation initiatives.
Implementation of the IMT-GT Framework of Cooperation on Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine.
Endorse the “Cooperation Among Competitors” guidelines
as recommended by the Asian Development Bank
Establish standards for performance monitoring.
Key Projects under the IB 2022-2026 Plan
Ongoing Projects
- Development of Tourism Route with Ecological and Cultural Heritage of the Songkhla Lake Basin linked to World Heritage Sites Project
- Capacity Building for CIQ Project
- CIQ Complex Development Project (New Sadao CIQ Complex and Linking to Bukit Kayu Hitam)
- IMT-GT Time Release Study (TRS) on Cargo Clearance and Trade Document Requirement Project
- IMT-GT Statistical Booklet Project
- IMT-GT Rubber Cities and Rubber Industry Cooperation Project
- IMT-GT Annual Trade Mission and Trade Fairs Project
- Thematic Industrial Park – Kedah Rubber City (KRC) Project – PCP and Flagship Project
- Chuping Valley Industrial Area (CVIA) Project – PCP
- Tok Bali Integrated Fisheries Park (TBIFP) Project
- Tok Bali Industrial Park (TBIP) Project
- IMT-GT Business Center’s Project – Flagship Project
- Sei Mangkei Rubber City (North Sumatera) Project – Flagship Project
- Songkhla SEZ Project – PCP
- Narathiwat SEZ Project
- Agro-industry Model City in Pattani Project
- Sustainable Tourism Model City in Yala Project
- IMT-GT Rubber Cities Project (Songkhla) – Flagship Project
Completed Projects
- Pasir Mas Halal Park Project
- Framework of Cooperation between the Governments of the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Kingdom of Thailand in Customs, Immigration, and Quarantine Procedures to Facilitate Cross-Border Movement of Goods and People in the Growth Triangle Project
Recent Progress
The working group agreed to sign the Framework of Cooperation (FoC) for the cross-border movement of goods and services during the 16th IMT-GT Summit. Furthermore, the working group for the Rubber City project and rubber industry cooperation is currently drafting a proposal to fund a study analyzing the requirements of the business sector within the IMT-GT subregion.
