National ICT Council 'within couple of years'

The Information and Communications Technology Ministry is drafting new legislation providing for the establishment of an ICT Council of Thailand.

The draft is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval before the end of this year.

The director of the Ministry's ICT Industry Promotion Bureau, Ajin Jirachiefpattana, said the proposed ICT Council would be a central organisation for the country's ICT industry. Its functions will include promoting the industry, supporting private-sector ventures in ICT and solving business-operational problems in order to protect Thailand's overall benefits from the industry. It will also collect opinions and make recommendations to the government on economic issues related to the ICT industry.

Moreover, the proposed council will aim to enhance and improve the competitive stature of local ICT industries by establishing international standards. It will also promote investment in ICT industries from both domestic and overseas sources, including the matching of local and overseas businesses and direct foreign investment.

The ICT Ministry completed the first draft of the ICT Council of Thailand Bill and launched public hearings several months ago. It expects that within the next couple of years the draft will be passed into law and the ICT council will be set up, bringing benefits to local ICT industries and the country as a whole.

The draft has seven sections, dealing with the ICT Council's organisation, its membership, committees, staff, operational processes, government regulations and impositions. It has 67 articles.

The proposed Council will be based in Bangkok and will establish branches upcountry so that its services and consultations to the private sector can be delivered anywhere in the country.

The ministry is also planning to set up a national database and a geographical information system related to the private-sector ICT Industry so that Thai ICT businesses, software developers, ICT human resources and other industry organisations can be accessed via the Internet by domestic and overseas investors, suppliers, buyers and other interested parties.

Ajin said the first steps in developing the database in Bangkok will be taken this year. Details of ICT-related businesses around the country will then be gathered for listing.

"We want to promote local ICT businesses in international markets via a website and allow international suppliers and investors to search for and access information about Thai ICT businesses anywhere and anytime. In this way, small- and medium-sized Thai ICT enterprises will be able to compete on international markets," he said.