On 6 February 2012, Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul held talks with Mr. Pham Binh Minh, the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, who was on his first official visit to Thailand at the invitation of the former. On this occasion, both sides discussed ways and means to further strengthen their bilateral and multilateral cooperation, in particular, following-up on the results of the official visit to Vietnam of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra during 30 November 2011. In this regard, Foreign Minister Surapong hosted dinner in honour of the Vietnamese Foreign Minister and his delegation at the Foreign Ministry.
In terms of Thai-Vietnamese relations, both sides agreed to expand cooperation in trade and investment, given that the trade volume between the two countries in 2011 amounted to over 9 billion USD, an increase of 25.47% from the previous year, and Vietnam is currently Thailand’s fourth largest trading partner in ASEAN. Aside from this, both sides were of the view that they should reactivate bilateral meetings of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) and the Joint Cabinet Meeting (JCM) this year. Other issues in the discussions included the exchange of high level visits, the strengthening of cooperation in agriculture, labour and fishery, as well as the upgrading of the bilateral relations between the two countries to the strategic partnership status.
In terms of cooperation at the multilateral level, both Thailand and Vietnam enjoyed good and cordial relations in ASEAN and would continue to cooperate to promote the realization of an ASEAN Community by 2015. In addition, both countries would also initiate cooperation in water management, so to prepare for the World Water Summit which Thailand would host this year.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th