BANGKOK — Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday held a meeting with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha on the sidelines of the eighth Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS 8) in Bangkok, Thailand.

The two leaders expressed their delight at the development of the bilateral strategic partnership in different areas, especially in economy, trade and investment.

They agreed to speed up the deployment of important cooperation mechanisms in 2018, especially the fourth joint cabinet meeting, the meeting of the Joint Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, and the third meeting of the Việt Nam – Thailand Joint Trade Committee.

Both leaders consented to build roads along the East-West economic corridor and launch road and waterway connectivity projects to serve trade, transport, tourism and people-to-people exchanges among regional countries.

PM Phúc spoke highly of Thailand’s role, initiatives and contributions within the ACMECS framework, believing that the summit will be successful with practical results.

He thanked PM Chan-o-cha for directing the registration and granting of permits to Vietnamese workers and asked the Thai government to extend working fields for Vietnamese guest workers within the framework of the bilateral labour cooperation agreement.

Having hailed Việt Nam’s position and role in the region and ACMECS cooperation in particular, PM Chan-o-cha expressed his wish to continue enhancing the bilateral partnership on the basis of increasingly heightened trust, and jointly dealing with existing problems to facilitate trade and investment ties.

He hoped that Việt Nam will offer more support to Thai firms doing business in the country.

On the occasion, the two PMs witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Thailand’s Kasikorn Bank and the Enterprise Development Agency under the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, and a contract between Vietnam’s Xuân Cầu Ltd Company and Thailand’s B.Grimm to develop Dầu Tiếng 1 and Dầu Tiếng 2 solar power plants in the southern province of Tây Ninh.

The same day, PM Phúc and his spouse attended a banquet hosted by their Thai counterparts.

Meeting with Lao PM

On the occasion, PM Phúc also held talks with Lao PM Thongloun Sisoulith on the sidelines of ACMECS 8 where the two sides reiterated appreciation for the historical ties and growing relationship between Việt Nam and Laos Government and People.

The Lao PM said he’s organising a dialogue with Vietnamese enterprises investing in Laos to listen to their concerns and deliver solutions, helping to contribute to mutual benefits.

PM Phúc thanked his counterpart for accepting the invitation to attend the World Economic Forum on ASEAN to be held in Hà Nội in September. — VNS