Anutin pushes data centre expansion, tech upskilling in talks with AWS

Detailed summary

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today held talks with a senior Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive to expand data centre investments and digital upskilling as Thailand pushes…

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul today held talks with a senior executive of Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) to explore deeper cooperation in digital infrastructure, data centre expansion and workforce upskilling as the government moves to position Thailand as a regional digital economy hub.

Government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises said Anutin met Michael Punke, vice-president of global public policy at AWS, at Government House at 2pm to discuss sustainable investment in cloud computing and local supply chain development.

Anutin thanked the US tech giant for its continued confidence in Thailand as a key production and digital base, assuring the company that the government is working to secure stable, sustainable energy supplies to support data centre growth.

To streamline operations for investors, the government is establishing a Data Centre One-Stop Service to improve resource allocation and is coordinating closely with the Data Centre Policy Committee and relevant agencies to support long-term expansion, the spokesman said.

"The prime minister also highlighted the Board of Investment’s (BoI) “Thailand Fast Pass Service,” a special mechanism designed to cut red tape, accelerate state approvals and ease regulatory bottlenecks for foreign investors," Ekkapob added.

On human capital development, Anutin praised AWS’s training initiatives with Thai universities and pointed to the BoI’s Skill Bridge scheme aimed at cultivating advanced digital talent.

AWS has partnered with the College of Innovation and Industrial Management (CIIM) at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) to launch Thailand’s first master’s degree programme in data centre engineering.

During the meeting, AWS also proposed knowledge-transfer and training programmes in data centre operations for civil servants and the general public to better align local skills with industry demand.

Ekkapob noted that this aligns with the prime minister’s policy of prioritising tangible benefits and skill…

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