29 Sept 2026
Dr. Suttipong Angthong, Secretary-General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), took part as a panellist in the Economic Forum 2026 organised by the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
KUALA LUMPUR, 29 September 2026 – Dr. Suttipong Angthong, Secretary-General of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), took part as a panellist in the Economic Forum 2026 organised by the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. The Forum was held on 25 September 2026 at the Imperial Lexis Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
The Forum’s theme was “Bridging the Two Borders: Elevating Thailand – Malaysia Resilient Value Chains in Halal and Rubber Industries”. It brought together government agencies, industry, chambers of commerce, academia and think-tanks from both countries.
The Forum opened on 25 September 2026 with Welcoming Remarks by H.E. Ms. Lada Phumas, Ambassador of Thailand to Malaysia, followed by Opening Remarks by YB Tuan Haji Akmal Nasrullah bin Mohd Nasir, Minister of Economy of Malaysia.
Dr. Suttipong spoke in Panel Session 2, “Strategic Partnership in Action: Advancing Thailand – Malaysia Sustainable Rubber Value Chain”. Other panellists came from the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), Thai Eastern Group Holdings PCL, the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) and Malaysian Rubber Board. The Centre for IMT-GT Subregional Cooperation (CIMT) moderated the session.
The session discussed cooperation between upstream and downstream parts of the natural rubber value chain, border economic corridors, joint research and development, and meeting international standards. It also covered how to protect the livelihoods of smallholders and other grassroots stakeholders.
In his remarks, Dr. Suttipong gave an overview of the natural rubber market and the issues that ANRPC member countries face. These include sustainability and traceability requirements in importing markets, price volatility, and the need to raise value addition in producing countries.
“ANRPC welcomes cooperation among its member countries that supports a sustainable and resilient natural rubber sector. Regional dialogue of this kind helps members share experience on value addition, standards compliance and smallholder welfare. ANRPC will continue to support its members with statistics, market analysis and a platform for cooperation.”
