At the meeting, Ambassador Thanh informed the Thai official on the complete opening of Vietnam, affirming that the policy will positively support the recovery of transport cooperation between the two countries after two years of disruption due to COVID-19, thus contributing to the economic recovery in both countries.
He said that the road connection among Vietnam, Laos and Thailand will help the three countries reach major markets such as the US, China, the Republic of Korea and Japan. He suggested that Vietnam and Thailand continue to work closely with Cambodia to speed up the formation of a coastal transport system and the organisation of the fifth meeting of the Working Group for the building of a coastal transport agreement among the three countries.
Regarding aviation connection, Ambassador Thanh proposed that Thailand remove limitations on the frequency of commercial flights from Thailand to Vietnam.
He suggested that Minister Saksayam Chidchob create favourable conditions for Vietnamese transport firms to operate in Thailand, contributing to strengthening air links between the two countries and boost bilateral trade, investment and tourism partnership.
For his part, Saksayam Chidchob congratulated Vietnam on its good control of the pandemic for reopening and economic recovery, with the resumption of international air routes to more than 20 countries, including Thailand.
He said that Thailand is carrying out many transport connection projects with Laos, which also aim to foster connectivity with Vietnam and facilitate logistics cooperation between the two countries.
The Thai minister hailed efforts by Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in speeding up negotiations for a tripartite agreement on coastal transport. He proposed that Vietnam soon organise the fifth meeting of the Working Group for the building of the deal to reach consensus on remaining technical issues.
He affirmed Thailand’s support and optimal conditions for Vietnamese transport businesses in Thailand.
Thailand is currently the largest trade partner of Vietnam among ASEAN member countries and the eighth biggest investor.
In the field of transport, the two countries have maitained close road, maritime and aviation connections. They have worked closely within the frameworks of ASEAN, the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) and tripartite cooperation (Vietnam, Laos and Thailand), thus facilitating the transport of goods between the two sides./.