AUKLAND, March 22 – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today led a Thai delegation for talks on trade and investment with New Zealand businessmen, targeting doubled bilateral commercial cooperation by 2020. The Thai entourage attended a function on Thai-New Zealand trade and investment cooperation which was jointly hosted by the Thai Board of Investment and the ASEAN-New Zealand Combined Business Council (ANZCBC).
Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce said New Zealand and Thailand, with their strength as world food suppliers, could exchange expertise on agricultural development, while education, tourism and environmental cooperation should be boosted.
Ms Yingluck said the economic partnership agreement between the two countries has tripled the trade volumes of Thailand and the southwestern Pacific nation, while cooperation will be enhanced particularly on development of technology for production, post-harvest management and food safety measures.
Given over 100,000 New Zealand tourists visiting Thailand each year, the two countries should exchange their experience on development of environmentally-friendly tourist attractions and safety measures for tourists, the Thai premier said.
She added, “Thailand’s political stability has contributed to it. 6.4 per cent economic growth in the past year while the government has stimulated domestic consumption and promoted investment by reducing the corporate tax from 30 per cent to 23 per cent.”
