The second Thailand - Myanmar friendship bridge (Photo: Bangkok Post)Bangkok (VNA) –Myanmar and Thailand have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boostthe transfer of goods across the second Thailand-Myanmar friendship bridge.
Crossing Moei river, the 760-metre-longbridge with four lanes connects Tak province’s Mae Sot district in Thailand toMyawaddy town in Myanmar.
Thailand funded its construction,which was worth about 3 billion baht (nearly 98.5 million USD). Aiming to alleviatecongestion on the nearby first Thailand-Myanmar friendship bridge, the project alsoincludes one-stop-service border checkpoints. Inaugurated in March, the bridgeis expected to be turned into a permanent border gate between the two countriesfrom October 30.
In a related development, Thai Ministerof Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit held a meeting on October 3 with the jointpublic-private sector consultative committee on Thailand-Myanmar border tradepromotion at Mae Sot to boost border trade between the two countries.
Laksanawisit said the ministrywill be coordinating businesses in Thailand and Myanmar to increase bordertrade and boost bilateral ties.
In the first eight months of 2019,Thailand’s trade turnover with Myanmar reached 55 billion baht (1.8 billionUSD), accounting for 18.3 percent of its total border trade volume withneighbouring countries.
With the opening of the newfriendship bridge, the border trade value via Mae Sot is expected to top 100billion baht (3.27 billion USD) in 2020, with exports from Thailand likely toincrease by more than 30 percent./.
VNA
