Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement between the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Thailand. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Nation, that's nationthailand.com, the article is titled: Thailand fully prepared for free trade talks with the UAE next month: Government. 

Quoting directly: "Thailand is ready to begin negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with one of its fastest growing trade partners, the United Arab Emirates next month, Governor Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri (sorry, transliterations always kind of slow me down) said. Both Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Minister of Commerce have been advised on progress made ahead of the talks, which are scheduled to commence on May 9, Anucha said, adding that Prayut is confident an FTA with the Emirates will open more opportunities for trade in the Middle East." I thought this was really interesting: "Bilateral trade and investment between Thailand and the Emirates is rising swiftly. The Emirates' top export to Thailand is oil and related products. Non-oil trade between the two countries reached US$ 6.1 billion in 2022, up 21% year on year."

So that is a pretty sizable increase in terms of trade and really honestly I would love to see Thailand initiate and engage in and promulgate even more of these free trade agreements throughout the world. It's definitely a good thing and I think we are probably going to see some, presumably we would see serious benefits here in Thailand for both Thai Importers and Exporters, if there was a Free Trade Agreement affected between the UAE and Thailand. I kind of find the UAE interesting because it reminds me a little bit of Thailand insofar as it's in a region where it sort of operates as a trade entrepôt as well as in certain ways like production of various depending on the jurisdiction, I'm not going to get into detail because that is not really the thrust of this channel, but both parties are major producers of goods and services and resources that are highly in demand. They also kind of have a unique situation wherein they kind of sit in the middle of an otherwise rather complex kaleidoscope of other nations and things around them and they are relatively stable, comparatively oftentimes. 

So again and not to get too deep into that but long story short, I think it's just generally a net positive to both Thailand and the Emirates to effect a Free Trade Agreement between these two jurisdictions.