Thai-Kazakh Joint Commission agrees to promote bilateral trade

BANGKOK, June 23 (TNA) - The Thai-Kazakh Joint Commission have agreed to promote bilateral trade and the Kazakh side has proposed to launch daily direct flights to Thailand, instead of five weekly flights currently, to support increasing trips of Kazakh business operators and tourists to Thailand, as the Thai government plans to open the Thai Embassy to Kazakhstan later this year after Kazakhstan opened its embassy to Thailand early this year. Before the meeting of the joint commission in Bangkok on Friday, Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul discussed the promotion of bilateral cooperation and trade with visiting Kazakh Labour and Social Protection Minister Gulshara Abdykalikova, during which the Kazakh minister also asked Thailand to support Kazakhstan’s attempt to be the chair of the United Nations General Assembly. Then both minister co-chaired the 2nd Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation of Thailand and Kazakhstan and jointly signed two agreements on investment promotion and protection and the exemption of tax duplication between Thailand and Kazakhstan. After the meeting, Thai Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Damrong Khraikhruan, who is also Deputy Director-General of the ministry's Department of Information, told journalists that both sides have agreed to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation, acknowledging although Kazakhstan is an important country in Central Asia, the value of two-way trade between Kazakhstan and Thailand now amounts to only 85.5 million US dollars. Kazakhstan is known as a major producer of natural gas and oil and now wants to also expand cooperation on agriculture and tourism with Thailand, where about 30,000 Kazakh tourists visited last year. The deputy spokesman said Thailand also wants to expand cooperation and information exchange on natural gas and oil, launch joint anti-narcotic efforts and discuss criminal laws concerning the interrogation of prisoners with Kazakhstan. (TNA)