VIENTIANE, 13 March 2013 Thailand and Vietnam are set to further their strategic partnership while collaborating more in the areas of rubber, rice and tourism.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, on Tuesday, met on the sidelines of the 5th ACMECS Summit in Vientiane.
The two leaders discussed the recent Joint Cabinet Retreat, during which both countries have shed light on the elevation of Thailand-Vietnam relations to the level strategic partnership.
The Thai PM told her Vietnamese counterpart that related agencies have been urged to help make progress in the promotion of bilateral relations and to prepare for Thailand’s first hosting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) later this year.
Ms. Yingluck also raised the issues of other cooperative moves, including trade and investment as well as the proposed setting up of a business council for the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese PM has responded to the invitation to the ACMECS Single Visa initiative, which Thailand and Cambodia have already agreed to join, in hopes of boosting tourism in the region.
Both ASEAN neighbors also agreed to further promote relations through more high-level visits between the two nations.
In 2013, Thailand set to host the 3rd Thai-Vietnamese Joint Cabinet Retreat and the 3rd Asia-Pacific Water Summit, which Vietnam is invited to join, while the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam is scheduled to make an official visit to Thailand.
