Vietnam’s ambassador to Thailand seeks ways to boost trade

Nhan Dan 3/08/2010

Aranyaprathet-Poi Pet border gate. Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Ngo Duc Thang has paid a working visit to Sa Kaeo province in Thailand to study the possibility of boosting trade activities between the eastern provinces of Thailand and southern Vietnamese counterparts via Cambodia. The ambassador also made a field trip to Aranyaprathet-Poi Pet international border gate and a number of roads that links it with Cambodia’s Battambang and Siem Reap provinces. During his working session with provincial authorities, Ambassador Thang said Sa Kaeo is located in the East-West Economic Corridor that connects the Thai capital Bangkok, with Vietnam’s largest economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, which opens up a big opportunity to strengthen sub-regional connections. The Aranyaprathet-Poi Pet international border gate will create favourable conditions to boost trade, investment and tourism relations between Vietnam and Thailand through Cambodia, he said. Ambassador Thang proposed the provincial leaders join hands with the embassy to hold a seminar in the province in the near future to help local agencies and firms and the eastern provinces thoroughly understand the benefits of regional connections as well as Vietnam’s investment policies and incentives. The diplomat also requested that Sa Kaeo province adopt a new mechanism to promote receiving guest workers from Vietnam. Sa Kaeo authorities agreed with the ambassador’s viewpoints and proposals, saying the province is planning to upgrade the railway and roads to facilitate the flow of goods between the two nations via Cambodia. They said that the province is developing a project to turn itself into a centre of logistics and services connecting roads that run through four regional countries: Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The provincial leaders promised to create favourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese in the province, work out a new mechanism for receiving Vietnamese guest workers, and simplify procedures for dealing with those who entered as tourists and stayed to work in Thailand despite having invalid visas. Following his tour of the Thai province, Ambassador Thang held working sessions with the leaders of the Cambodian province of Siem Reap and the Vietnamese Consul General in Battambang province.