Bangladesh and Thailand will start free trade talks (FTA) with Bangladesh next month in a bid to increase the bilateral trade to the tune of 2.00 billion US dollars.
Thai Ambassador to Bangladesh Makawadee Sumitmor told this to Bangladesh Post on Sunday
Makawadee Sumitmor said a high-level Thai trade delegation will visit Bangladesh to hold talks with the Bangladesh delegation, to be headed by State Minister for Commerce Ahasanul Islam Titu , in last week of August in Dhaka.
Makawadee Sumitmor said that Thailand will send a high-level Thai business delegation to explore business potentials and investment environment in Bangladesh.
The Thai diplomat also mentioned that during the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Thailand, the Bangladesh Premier invited Thai entrepreneurs and businessmen to invest in prospective sectors of Bangladesh.
She said Thai investment in Bangladesh will help reduce the trade gap between the two countries.
Terming Thailand as one of the popular tourist destinations in the world, Makawadee Sumitmor said that the number of Bangladesh visitors reached the pre-pandemic level as some 140,000 Bangladesh visitors toured Thailand in 2023.
She also said Thailand issues some 4,000 medical visas to Bangladeshis a year as the Southeast Asia is also a popular medical tourist destination in the world.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited Thailand on April 24-29, 2024 on a bilateral and multilateral visits at the invitation of her Thai counterpart, Srettha Thavisin, to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Bangladesh premier held bilateral talks with Thai Prime Minister Thavisin at the Government House (the Thai Premier's Office) and five bilateral documents were signed on visa exemption, cooperation on energy, tourism and customs matters, and negotiation of free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangladesh and Thailand in the presence of the two leaders.
During her visit to Thailand on April 24-29, 2024, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina held bilateral talks with PM Thavisin and also attended the 80th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
Bangladesh’s export to Thailand stood at 61 million US dollars (61616259.76 US dollars) during the July-May period of 2023-24
fiscal year.
Bangladesh’s export to Thailand stood at 71 million US dollars (71712021.78 US dollars) during July-June 2022-23 fiscal year, according to the data of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) of Bangladesh.
The bilateral trade between Bangladesh and Thailand stands $1.2 billion US dollars
Thai investment in Bangladesh during 006-2019 amounted to $1.5 billion, with much of it going into agro-industrial and agro-processing businesses, construction and hotels.
Bangladeshi direct investment in Thailand in the same period was worth $1.12 million. Meanwhile, a team of highly professional Thai Chefs from Bangkok will come to Dhaka as part of the Thai food festival and to prepare an array of mouth-watering authentic Thai Cuisine to bring in the real flavors of Thailand.
