However, that is a political decision and it is not within my competence. In any case, we need our tightest monetary policy in twenty years to be accompanied by a credible budget consolidation plan, which the public will trust to support our efforts to reduce inflation. Inflation is our responsibility. However, we are in this together with the government. We need support from fiscal policy and from you. Reducing inflation is in the country's interest. We have already tamed several money flows in the economy. Above all, reducing the country's debt is now needed for a long-lasting return of inflation to low levels. However, banks should also raise interest paid on all household deposits and motivate people to save even more. And this is what we should fight for together. For less debt and more savings. In the interest of the republic. References Adam, T. and Michl, A. (2022). Inflace v R:cyklický i acyklický píbh? [Inflation in the Czech Republic: A cyclical or acyclical story?] (cnBlog – official blog of the Czech National Bank). Adam, T. and Michl, A. (2023). Inflace klesá – prbžné vyhodnocení dezinflaního procesu v esku [Inflation is falling – an interim assessment of the disinflation process in the Czech Republic] (cnBlog – official blog of the Czech National Bank). Bianchi, F. and Melosi, L. (2022). Inflation as a Fiscal Limit (external link). (FRB of Chicago Working Paper No. 2022-37). 5/6  BIS - Central bankers' speeches  Cochrane, J. H. (2023). The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level. Princeton University Press.
Protecting intellectual property rights and minimizing regulatory burdens for businesses are the two key areas that continue to require reform efforts. I would like to note that several moves in the right direction are already in place. Government’s massive investment plan in water management and long-term infrastructure is one of them. At the very least, the attempt has managed to elevate the urgency of infrastructure upgrading to the status of a national reform agenda. On a related note, the government also has the plan to push Thailand toward an innovation-driven economy. While these are laudable initiatives, challenges still remain in the implementation phase, and more work remains to ensure that we get the biggest bang for the baht and that fiscal discipline is respected. (3)  Leveraging existing opportunities around us  Ladies and Gentlemen, The third ingredient I would like to discuss today is the importance of identifying opportunities surrounding us and leveraging them. Upgrading efforts that I spoke about at length should put the country in a better position to reap benefits from these opportunities, which can make the route to prosperity less arduous. The timing is still on our side. First is China’s changing role in the international trade – from a large manufacturer of export goods to a large import country of the world. Even with signs of losing some steam, one should not forget that even a 6-to-7 percent growth of today’s Chinese economy still adds far more to global demand than the double-digit growth of the past decade.