Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday revealed that his government and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) have a common objective — to maintain Thailand's economic growth rate and to ease the impacts of the current economic hardships on the life of the people.
Speaking after leading a team of economic ministers and senior officials to discuss and exchange views with BoT governor Tarisa Watanagase, he said the central bank has an important role in supervising the country's economy.
The bank has the authority to function independently and seves as a specific mechanism to oversee policy.
The discussion was held with the intention to exchange economic information to ensure that the government and the BoT have a proper understanding of ways to manage the economy.
In the past year, the central bank and state agencies seemed to have different views on various matters, he said, adding that it gave a picture of performance conflicts.
Mr. Abhisit said he did not want to see that picture happen again in his tenure.
"Upon discussion, we have a clear understanding that a common mission of the government and the central bank is to maintain the economic growth rate and to reduce the impact of the economic problems on the living of the people," he said.
The premier said he believed that fiscal and monetary policies would be implemented smoothly because the BoT chief is a member of the economic minister committee, which will meet on a weekly basis.
Regarding interest rates, he said it is the duty of the Monetary Policy Committee to make such a decision.
Actually, he sees the central bank's monetary policy as having already eased following its recent decision to cut the interest rate sharply by one percentage point to stimulate the economy.
Mr. Abhisit brushed aside mounting concerns over deflation following the inflation rate in December dropping sharply, saying he was confident that the economic stimulus packages to be issued by his government would help stimulate the economy.
