Gyeonggi Province Governor attends G-Fair in Bangkok with the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand

○ Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim attended the opening ceremony of G-Fair ASEAN+ in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 6. - Governor K...

○ Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim attended the opening ceremony of G-Fair ASEAN+ in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 6.
- Governor Kim toured the exhibition hall with Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand
- He encouraged participating companies at the exhibition to promote exports and expand trade with India and Southeast Asia
○ On the previous day, July 5, Governor Kim met with representatives of Korean companies operating in Thailand.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim, who embarked on an overseas visit to strengthen market penetration in India and ASEAN as well as to enhance international cooperation, visited Thailand following his visit to India to support the entry of Gyeonggi Province's small and medium-sized enterprises into the Thai market.

Governor Kim attended the opening ceremony of the 2023 G-Fair ASEAN+ held at the Bangkok Convention Center in Thailand on the morning of July 6 local time and emphasized, "I have visited Bangkok several times on economic cooperation and international organization missions since my 20s, about 40 years ago. Every time I come, I see Thailand's potential through its development." He added, "I consider cooperation with ASEAN countries particularly important, and among them, Thailand is the most important strategic partner."

He continued, "This year's G-Fair is being held in four countries including India, Vietnam, and Malaysia, and only Thailand is hosting the event offline… I hope that G-Fair will serve as an opportunity to expand economic cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and Thailand beyond simple trade to investment, tourism, and human exchanges. In the future, Gyeonggi Province will strengthen economic cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and Thailand and business cooperation among companies."

The event was attended by Jurin Laksanawisit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce of Thailand, Keerati Rashchano, Deputy Secretary-General of the Ministry of Commerce, Arada Fuangtong, Deputy Director-General of the Department of International Trade Promotion, Phairush Burapachaisri, Vice Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Wiwat Hemmond Harop, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, Nithi Patarachoke, CEO of Siam Cement Group (the second-largest Thai company), and other key figures from the Thai government and business community.

Deputy Prime Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said, "Last year was a special year when the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator and the Department of International Trade Promotion of Thailand signed a special trade cooperation agreement for the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises, the 'Mini FTA.' Thanks to the 'Mini FTA,' the Korea-Thailand economic market has expanded." He added, "This year marks the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Thailand. We can see how interested Korea is in the Thai economy by the fact that the largest exhibition in ASEAN, G-Fair, is being held in Thailand. I express my gratitude to Governor Kim."

This year's G-Fair, which takes place from July 6-7, is a specialized exhibition of Korean products hosted by Gyeonggi Province and organized by the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator. It is one of Gyeonggi Province's representative overseas marketing support projects aimed at the opening of export channels for promising export companies. Gyeonggi Province independently holds the event overseas.

In particular, this year, in order to expand into the Southeast Asian market, including the Indochina Peninsula, G-Fair is being held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, the central country of the Indochina Peninsula. Prior to this, online consultations were held in India (first week of June), Vietnam (second week of June), and Malaysia (third week of June). A total of 227 outstanding Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (120 online, 107 offline) and buyers from four countries, including Thailand and three ASEAN countries, and India, are engaging in one-on-one export consultations.

Thailand is the second-largest economy in ASEAN and a hub country connecting the Indo-China Peninsula and China in the CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam) economic zone. Since 2016, Gyeonggi Province has been holding the "K-Beauty Expo Bangkok" annually to promote the overseas expansion of the cosmetics industry, and in 2020, a Gyeonggi Business Center branch was opened in Bangkok to support local exports by small and medium-sized enterprises in the province.

Meanwhile, Governor Kim met with local Korean company representatives at a restaurant in Bangkok on the evening of July 5 local time. Approximately 30 people attended the meeting, including Yoon Doo-seop, Vice Chairman of the World OTKA, and Jang Eun-gyeong, World OKTA President of the Bangkok Branch.