PM visiting Laos, Vietnam to discuss trade

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha left Bangkok yesterday on a three-day trip for official visits to Laos and Vietnam to boost cooperation on trade and investment.

Vientiane and Hanoi are the third and fourth Asean capitals – after Nay Pyi Taw and Phnom Penh – that Prayut will visit after assuming the premiership.

A government spokesman said the visits reflect the importance Thailand puts on promoting close ties with neighboring countries and cooperation within the Asean group.

In Vientiane, Gen Prayut is scheduled to meet Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and witness the signing of agreements on development projects – scientific, technological and innovative cooperation – for Bokeo hospital.

A grant for a road project from Hongsa to Chomphet district in Luang Prabang province will also be signed.

Gen Prayut is also due to meet the Lao National Assembly president and the Thai business community there.

Later today, Gen Prayut will then head to Vietnam, where he will meet Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, President Truong Tan Sang, National Assembly President Nguyen Sinh Hung and Ta Quang Ngoc, president of the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association.

They will discuss cooperation on trade and investment, especially farm products such as rice and natural rubber, as well as roads between the two countries through Laos and Cambodia, and the promotion of coastal transport.

The two countries will sign agreements on cultural exchange and the promotion of a sister city relationship between Chachoengsao province and the Vietnamese city of Can Tho in the Mekong Delta.

Gen Prayut is due to return tomorrow.

— Phuket Gazette Editors