Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek stated that Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul had set three guidelines to help people get through current economic difficulties as a result of the Middle East conflict.

In the first guideline, expenditures in the public sector will be cut, so that more national budget allocations will be used to prioritize impact mitigation on the people.

The second guideline seeks to restructure energy prices, including fuel and electricity, in order to lower energy costs for the people as soon as possible.

In the third guideline, relief measures will be implemented to ease the people’s hardships, such as the “half-half plus co-payment” program and the low-interest credit extension for farmers, industrial operators, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Prime Minister pointed out that people must accept reality, as Thailand is facing a global crisis. All Thai people must, therefore, join hands in adjusting together to overcome this crisis. National unity is the most important social capital during this time. He believed that cooperation among the people would help Thailand get through the crisis and enable the people to live with changes that would arise in the future.

The Prime Minister explained that impacts of the Middle East situation have spread worldwide and caused sharp increases in the prices of fuel, natural gas, and related by products, especially fertilizers and plastic pellets. Thailand imports about 50 percent of its energy from the Middle East.

He said that the Middle East conflict has continued to escalate, and attacks were now targeted at oil production sites, refineries, depots, and oil and gas transport systems across the region. Even if the conflict de-escalates in the future, it will take some time for oil and gas production infrastructure in the Middle East to recover to normal output. Consequently, high energy prices and shortages of petrochemical products are likely to persist for a certain period.