Consul General of Thailand Thatree Chauvachata has said that Pakistan is one of the important trade partners of Thailand and both countries have capacity to further strengthen mutual trade and economic ties.
He was addressing a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) here on Saturday. He said in 2019, the bilateral trade between two countries jumped to over US$1.46 billion. Thailand exported goods and services worth US$1174.25 million to Pakistan. Among these included automobiles, crude oil, chemicals, rubber products, machinery and polymer. Similarly, Pakistani export to Thailand recorded an increase of 41.45 percent in 2019," he said, and added that among these export items includes fresh aquatic animals, garments and textile.
He maintained that four major Thai companies have already invested in Pakistan while another four are exploring new opportunities for investment in Pakistan.
The Thai Consul General informed the house that very recently Pakistan's Electro-Polymers Private Limited and Thai Stanley Electric Public Company Limited have inked a partnership by signing international Tri-party joint venture with Japan, Thailand and Pakistan. Thailand and Pakistan have been discussing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) since 2013 and hopefully it would be finalized very soon. He said Thailand is a major destination for tourists and last year around 80,000 Pakistani tourists visited his country, he said.
The Consul General said political consultation at secretary level and meetings of Joint Economic Commission will be held during this year to further bolster economic relations between the two countries. Pakistan has been actively participating in Asian Cooperation Dialogue while Thailand also supported Pakistan in its entry to ASEAN Regional Forum. "In 2004 both countries signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) on Anti Terrorism and other related crimes," he added.
Speaking on the occasion, LCCI President Irfan Iqbal Sheikh said Thailand comes at 9th place among the top importing countries and at 24th place among the top exporting countries for Pakistan. "In recent years, the trade between the two countries has shown tremendous improvement. Pakistan's exports to Thailand consist of frozen fish, wheat, mineral fuels and cotton, whereas we are importing automotive parts, rubber tires, chemicals, polymers, artificial staple fibres and machinery parts from Thailand.
Thailand has made substantial progress in Halal food exports in last few years. The Lahore Chamber has also identified Halal food as one of our priorities sectors where we can enhance our exports. He also expressed interest to enter into joint ventures with Thai companies dealing in Halal food.
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