ส.อ.ท. จับมือ กระทรวงสาธารณสุข ขับเคลื่อนเศรษฐกิจสุขภาพไทยFTI Collaborates with the Ministry of Public Health to Drive Thailand's Health Economy

Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of the Ministry of Public Health, and Mr. Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), convened a meeting to discuss cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and the Federation of Thai Industries on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at Chai Nat Narenthorn Room, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Public Health. The purpose of the meeting was to find ways to drive and promote Thailand's health economy and address the legal and regulatory obstacles affecting business operations, as well as to discuss ways to promote industries related to the health and beauty industry cluster to stimulate economic growth and investment in the country.

Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of the Ministry of Public Health, elaborated on the Ministry's policy to assist in resolving the national economic issues by promoting the economy. This involves pushing through seven policies focused on health economics aimed at increasing the economic value by over 690 billion Baht in the year 2025, which will subsequently contribute to increasing the country's GDP. Health products that are innovative, high-quality, and internationally recognized will significantly enhance the momentum of health economic policy. In the past, the Ministry of Public Health has listened to the problems and obstacles and has continuously worked to improve regulations regarding approval and permissions for products, production sites, imports, sales, and advertising to facilitate business operations. Additionally, the Ministry has been continuously improving the consideration process to make it faster. Following discussions with the FTI, the Ministry of Public Health has established crucial measures to promote domestic production, enhance competitive advantages, such as providing regulatory consulting, training to develop operators, and promoting confidence among personnel in the Ministry of Public Health to utilize domestically produced innovative health products, especially in state service facilities, while also pushing for these innovative health products to be included in the benefits package under the National Health Security system and promoting the mechanism of the innovation account for public procurement.

Mr. Kriengkrai Thiennukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), further noted that given the current economic situation in Thailand, which is preparing to upgrade to a comprehensive medical industry and international health hub (Medical Hub), along with the trend of health tourists coming to Thailand for treatment and the challenges posed by aging societies both domestically and internationally, there has been a shift where consumers are increasingly concerned about and taking care of their health. However, Thailand also faces significant pressure from fierce competition in similar products from rival countries in the region. Therefore, promoting the economy by emphasizing domestic production and consumption is a key approach that will enable the Thai economy to navigate these challenges. Today's discussions mark a positive starting point for collaborative efforts to enhance the competitiveness of Thai operators, especially in products under the health and beauty cluster, for which the FTI has established the health and beauty industry cluster, comprising seven industry groups including pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, medical device manufacturing, herbal products, cosmetics, supplements, and biotechnology.

Under the collaboration between the FTI and the Ministry of Public Health, we have important missions to drive Thailand to become a health economy hub in ASEAN. We will move forward with the development of the supply chain related to health products, from the development of raw materials to the final products, in order to increase the value of goods and enhance the competitiveness of operators in the future.

Mr. Nakarn Tewichawat, Chairman of the Health and Beauty Industry Cluster of the Federation of Thai Industries, added that the Health and Beauty Industry Cluster works closely with the Ministry of Public Health on regulations and production standards, the development of operators' capabilities, support for research and innovation, and the enhancement of the country's health system to ensure robust and sustainable industry growth. This will be driven toward achieving these goals through four key policies:

1. Strengthening the industrial network
2. Upgrading to new industries
3. Improving and amending laws and regulations to facilitate business operations
4. Increasing the competitive capacity of the Thai industry

Additionally, the FTI has presented guidelines for cooperation in driving and promoting Thailand's health economy, planning to collaborate with the Ministry of Public Health to establish a steering committee between the Ministry of Public Health and the FTI to address issues related to the industrial economy and investments in the country. Further details are as follows:

1. Promoting health economic development policies to position Thailand as a Medical & Wellness Hub, creating an economic value of over 690 billion Baht, with the aim of stimulating economic growth and GDP in 2025.
2. Creating a cooperation mechanism to drive operations between the public and private sectors, divided into three areas:
1.1 Developing innovative health products
1.2 Increasing the competitive capacity of operators
1.3 Promoting confidence in the quality of domestically researched and developed products, especially for state service facilities.
3. Announcement of the health product industry index.

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For further inquiries, please contact
Industry Promotion and Support Division, FTI
Phone: 0-2345-1177