On May 2, H.E. Mr. NASHIDA Kazuya, Ambassador of Japan to the the Kingdom of Thailand, as well as H.E. Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Finance of Thailand and Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Director-General, Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand exchanged notes concerning one yen loan project of up to 50 billion yen in total and one grant aid project of up to 500 million yen in Bangkok, in the presence of Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, and H.E. Mr. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Thailand. Overview of the projects are as follows.
1. Yen loan
(1) COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan (50 billion yen)
(2) This is to provide financial support to the Government of Thailand, where COVID-19 is spreading. Through this cooperation, the health care system with a view of post-COVID will be strengthened, support for the poor and vulnerable as well as small and medium-sized enterprises affected by COVID-19 will be promoted, and Thailand’s economic and social stabilization as well as development efforts will be promoted.
(3) The terms of the loan are as follows:
(?) Interest rate: 0.01% per annum
(?) Repayment period: 15 years (including a 4-year grace period)
(?) Procurement terms: General untied
2. Grant aid
(1) Programme for COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support (500 million yen)
(2) This programme is to provide Suvarnabhumi International Airport, four border quarantine stations and hospitals near border in Thailand with equipment related to quarantine, border control, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Through this cooperation, it is expected that the risk of infection with a coronavirus will be suppressed and economic activities will be resumed at the same time, which will promote Thailand’s economic and social stabilization as well as development efforts.
[Reference] Thailand covers an area of 514,000 square kilometers (roughly 1.4 times the area of Japan), and has a population of 66.17 million (Ministry of Interior, Thailand, 2021) and a gross national income (GNI) per capita of 17,719 U.S. dollars (World Bank, 2020).
Source: Government of Japan