The trip is made at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Prominent among the Vietnamese delegation are Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long.

President Phuc’s official visit to Thailand takes place amid the thriving enhanced strategic partnership between the two countries. It is the first to the country by a senior Vietnamese leader after the 13th National Party Congress and also the first by a President of Vietnam after 24 years.

The President’s participation in the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok strongly reflects Vietnam’s active and proactive efforts to integrate comprehensively and intensively into the world and promote multilateral diplomacy, thereby contributing to regional peace, cooperation, and economic connectivity and popularising Vietnam as a country with stability and positive economic growth after the COVID-19 pandemic.

President’s visit to create new impulse for Vietnam - Thailand enhanced strategic partnership

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Thailand and attendance in the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting there will create a new impulse for the two countries’ enhanced strategic partnership, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc.

President Phuc, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam will visit Thailand and attend the APEC event, held in Bangkok from November 16 to 19, at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Talking to the press, Deputy Minister Ngoc said the trip holds special importance to both countries as it will mark the official resumption of in-person mutual visits and thus, further promote the two countries’ comprehensive cooperation.

He elaborated that this is the first visit to Thailand by President Phuc as the State leader of Vietnam and also the first visit by a key Vietnamese leader after the 13th National Party Congress and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides, President Phuc is the first foreign leader to pay an official visit to Thailand ahead of the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. The host’s welcome for him amid its preparations for the APEC event shows its respect for the reinforcement of the enhanced strategic partnership.

The trip also takes place on the threshold of the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam - Thailand strategic partnership in 2023, Ngoc noted, highlighting the maintained contact at all levels between the two States, Governments, parliaments, and peoples, along with great strides in different spheres, especially economy, trade, and investment.

This is an occasion for Vietnamese and Thai leaders to discuss major orientations for further promoting economic, trade, and investment links; expanding cooperation to new and potential areas like digital economy, digital transformation, and green economy; and stepping up cooperation in culture, education, sports, people-to-people exchange, and locality-to-locality ties, he said.

He expressed his belief that the visit will demonstrate Vietnamese and Thai leaders’ strong determination to unceasingly promote the enhanced strategic partnership, thereby contributing to ASEAN solidarity as well as regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

The official said during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week, President Phuc will engage in a number of multilateral and bilateral activities, including two in-depth discussions where he and heads of delegations from 21 member economies will look into the situation, solutions to difficulties, and measures for accelerating economic recovery and boosting balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growth.

This is a chance for Vietnam to share its viewpoints and experience and suggest orientations so that APEC cooperation will contribute more effectively to the settlement of common challenges in the region, for the sake of all members, according to Ngoc.

He added that the Vietnamese delegation will make active, proactive, and responsible participation in meetings; uphold the dialogue and solidarity spirit and multilateralism; and join other members to seek solutions to help APEC surmount difficulties and challenges, protect the obtained achievements and core values of cooperation, and continue developing strongly in the future.

Through the APEC meeting, Vietnam will show international friends and businesses itself as a dynamic and creative economy with fast and sustainable development.

In the time to come, it will continue joining other APEC members to overcome challenges and build an open, dynamic, resilient, and peaceful Asia-Pacific community, the deputy minister noted.

Vietnam, Thailand look toward 25 billion USD in trade

The official visit to Thailand by President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his attendance at the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok from November 16-19 is expected to create a driving force to deepen bilateral ties and raise two-way trade.

In the first ten months of this year, two-way trade between Vietnam and Thailand hit 17.8 billion USD, up 22.8% annually. It is predicted to reach the target of 25 billion USD soon at this growth pace, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Asia-Africa Markets.

The department said the two governments had established a Joint Trade Committee co-chaired by the Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade and the Thai Minister of Commerce to settle arising issues in economic and trade ties. The committee’s fourth meeting was held in April in Bangkok under the chair of the two ministers.

Vietnam, Thailand and other ASEAN members have also joined bilateral and multilateral deals like the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, ASEAN’s free trade agreements with partner countries, particularly the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – the world’s biggest free trade agreement that took effect in early 2022.

Since travel returned to normal following COVID-19, trade promotion activities like market survey trips, seminars, exhibitions and fairs have been held in-person.

Vietnam mainly exports manufactured and processed items to Thailand, which account for over 60% of Vietnam's total exports to the country, namely mobile phones and spare parts, machinery and equipment, computers, electronics and accessories, transport vehicles, metal products and apparel. Construction materials, especially iron and steel, are also Vietnam’s important currency earners.

However, Vietnam and Thailand’s exports are similar, especially agro-fishery products, creating competition. Thailand has so far allowed the import of only five types of Vietnamese fruits, namely white and red dragon fruits, lychee, longan and mango.

Nguyen Thanh Huy from the Vietnam Trade Office in Thailand said Thai consumers favour processed and packaged foods, so Vietnamese exporters should focus on building specific market strategies and trademarks with goods that satisfy local tastes like low sugar and low fat food, as well as e-commerce.

He advised them to meet technical standards and use modern technology in processing and preservation to maintain product quality during transportation, and join more exhibitions and fairs to promote products and seek partners.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien wished the Vietnamese Ambassador together with Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand continue supporting the Vietnam Trade Office to hold cooperation activities between the two countries, thus contributing to bilateral economic development and friendship.

Vietnam and Thailand to issue joint statement, ink cooperation documents

Vietnam and Thailand are expected to issue a joint statement and sign a number of cooperation documents across various fields during the ongoing visit to Thailand made by State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh.

President Phuc is currently paying an official visit to Thailand where he is also attending the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting from November 16 to 19 at the invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.

Thanh told a Bangkok-based VOV correspondent that the visit demonstrates the strong Vietnamese commitments to elevate the strategic partnership with Thailand to new heights.

During the trip, the President is scheduled to pay a courtesy visit to the King and Queen of Thailand, and meet with several senior Thai leaders, including National Assembly chief Chuan Leekpai and leaders of both houses of the legislature.

He will hold talks alongside Thai PM Chan-o-cha, and witness the signing of a number of cooperation documents, including an action plan for implementation of the Vietnam-Thailand Enhanced Strategic Partnership for the 2022 - 2027 period.

The State leader will also attend a meeting with businesses of the two countries, an opening ceremony of the Vietnam Product Week in Thailand, along with other activities.

Most notably, the two sides are anticipated to issue a joint statement that aims to outline new measures to strengthen political trust and deepen co-operation across various fields between the two countries amid the new context. They will also affirm their strong resolve to further coordinate positions on a number of regional and international issues of common concern, including promoting the central role of ASEAN.

Shortly after the visit, President Phuc is due to attend the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, with numerous meetings and activities on his schedule.

It is worth remembering that during the APEC Year 2022 Vietnam has actively engaged in all meetings of the bloc covering numerous fields, from trade, forestry, and food security, to tourism, health care, small-and medium-sized enterprise development, and finance. It has put forward initiatives and played an active role in the implementation of the Aotearoa Plan of Action toward the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040.

“We hope this trip will give fresh impetus to and truly mark a historic milestone in Vietnam-Thailand relations as well as Vietnam’s engagement in the APEC forum,” said Ambassador Thanh.

According to the diplomat, economic ties represent a bright spot in the Vietnam – Thailand relations. Thailand currently ranks eighth among 140 foreign investors in Vietnam with nearly 700 projects capitalised at more than US$13 billion.

Moreover, Thailand is also the largest trading partner for Vietnam within ASEAN. Indeed, two-way trade turnover hit US$19 billion last year and US$10.6 billion in the first half of this year alone. The two countries have set their sights on achieving a target of raising their trade to US$25 billion by 2025.

However, the diplomat pointed out that Vietnamese investment in Thailand remains modest, that does not match the capabilities of Vietnamese businesses or Thailand’s development needs.

As part of efforts to resolve the problem, Ambassador Thanh said during the visit the two countries are anticipated to agree on three connections in terms of supply chain, business production, and development policy.

They will bring into full play the important role of the Thailand Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (ThaiCham), as well as swiftly establishing the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (VietCham) in order to remove bottlenecks and facilitate stronger business production in each other’s markets.

Source: VNA/VOV