Thailand has signed a mini-free trade agreement with the South Korean city of Busan, paving the way for future economic cooperation between the two countries.
The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) and the Busan Economic Promotion Agency (BEPA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form trade partnerships through a mini-free trade agreement (mini-FTA). Following the signing, both parties expressed optimism about the agreement, hoping that it will lead to deeper future trade and investment partnership.
According to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, Busan is South Korea’s second-largest city and an important logistic and transport center in the country. He said that the mini-FTA will help to strengthen relationships and boost bilateral trade between Thailand and Busan, as well as South Korea. The value of bilateral trade between Thailand and Busan was 2.33 billion dollars (75 billion baht) in 2021.
Moon Seoung-hyun, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to Thailand, stated that 2022 marks the 64th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 10th anniversary of a strategic partnership. Given the two countries’ long-standing relationship, he expressed hope that future cooperation between Thailand and South Korea would become deeper, as two-way trade between the two countries reached a record high of 15.5 billion dollars last year.
The Commerce Ministry previously signed four mini-FTAs with Kofu city in Japan, Hainan and Gansu provinces in China, and Telangana state in India. (NNT)
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