Prime Minister Anutin met with executives of three Thai private companies in France to support expanding raw material imports and promote Thai franchise growth in the European market.
On 23 May 2026 at 14:00 local time (which is five hours behind Thailand) at the Salon Charpentier room, Ground Floor, InterContinental Paris Le Grand Hotel, Paris, France, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul held discussions with executives of three Thai private companies investing in France: 1. Mr. Erwan Wilfer, Chairman of Ambient Branded under Thai Union Europe Limited; 2. Mr. Armis Panayotopoulos, Head of Sustainability Policy Promotion and Implementation for Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Indorama Ventures Limited; and 3. Mr. Supasit Sukhanin, CEO of Mud and Hound Limited. The meeting aimed to hear suggestions, opportunities, and challenges faced by Thai businesses in Europe, as well as ways to promote Thai-French economic cooperation across multiple dimensions.
After the meeting, Ms. Ratchada Thanadirek, spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister, revealed that the private sector made the following proposals to the government:
1. Support the expedited conclusion of the Thailand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which would reduce EU import tariffs on Thai products from 24% to zero, enhancing Thai products' ability to penetrate the European market and benefiting all Thai exporters.
2. Promote Thai business franchises in the European market through measures by the Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Bank), especially Thai restaurant businesses. Thai cuisine is popular internationally, but many Thai restaurants are operated by non-Thai nationals lacking authentic cooking skills, leading to altered flavors. The private sector proposed measures to support Thai nationals in France and other European countries to operate Thai restaurants, which would also encourage the import of Thai raw materials and preserve Thai identity.
The Prime Minister showed strong interest and stated that the government will push forward by bringing Thai private sector representatives with restaurant franchises to engage with EXIM Bank to design further support measures.