On 12 August 2017, Ambassador Jukr Boon-Long delivered the opening remarks at the certificate awarding ceremony for the senior executive class of SCB Bankers Academy at Melia Hotel, Yangon. The SCB Bankers Academy is a collaborative project between Siam Commercial Bank, Thammasat University, Thailand, and the Myanmar Banks Association. A total of 26 Myanmar bankers participated in the first senior executive program.

Ambassador Jukr praised the vision of the organizers of SCB Bankers Academy and the training program for Myanmar executive bankers. He supported collaboration between Thai banks and the Myanmar Banks Association, and stated that Thai banks can support the Association’s objective to implement the Myanmar government’s policy. This includes developing various sectors to promote economic growth, such as agriculture, industry, and trade, promoting collaboration between banks, and encouraging the public to use banking services. Ambassador Jukr also supported opportunities for Thai universities to contribute towards Myanmar’s economic development.  

 Dr. Sein Maung, Vice Chairman of the Myanmar Banks Association, thanked the organizers of SCB Bankers Academy for supporting the development of Myanmar’s banking system. He noted that Myanmar is behind global banks in terms of skills, management, technology, and capital, and that the SCB Bankers Academy was a good project to create skillful bankers. Mr. Kamalkant Agarwal, Head of International Banking at Siam Commercial Bank, spoke of the bank’s determination to assist Myanmar society, especially on human resource development, which led to this comprehensive program covering management and strategic planning. Lastly, Dr. Nopporn Ruangwanij from Thammasat University outlined the training program, which consists of both theory and practice, exchange of views between participants, and workshops.  

The Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon has consistently promoted cooperation between the Thai private sector, including Thai banks, and Myanmar, as a means to enhance existing close economic relations and mutual benefits between the two countries. The Embassy sees Thai banks in Myanmar as important “helping hands” to support Thai and Myanmar businesses, and to strengthen Myanmar’s financial sector.

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