Economic Reporter :
Ranong Province Governor of Thailand Suriyan Karnjanasilp has expressed the hope that businessmen of Bangladesh and Thailand will raise bilateral trade using seaports of both the countries.
He expressed the hope in a business meeting between Bangladesh Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BTCCI) and a delegation of the Thai Port Authority at Dhaka Club in the city on Monday. BTCCI organized the meeting.
A 13-member high profile Thai delegation is visiting Bangladesh to explore feasibility of signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) for direct coastal shipping between Chittagong port in the Bay of Bengal and Ranong Port of Thailand in the Andaman Sea.
BTCCI President Sajjatuz Jumma welcomed the delegation members and said that Bangladesh and Thailand have long-standing friendly relations.
He said Thailand is an advanced economy and is recognized globally as a hub of business in the Asia-Pacific region for its impressive creation, innovation and development of versatile products.
Being strategic partners in the region, Bangladesh and Thailand have the room to cooperate with each other, he said adding that it is high time for both of the countries to boost relations with each other in order to nurture the economic diplomacy adopted in recent times.
The move to sign MoU between Chittagong Port and Ranong Port shows the growing bilateral diplomatic and business relationships between the two brotherly countries, Jumma observed.
Ranong Province governor Suriyan Karnjanasilp said cooperation between the two countries could be widened regionally and bilaterally by opening sea and land routes.
By signing the MoU Chittagong and Ranong will mark the beginning of a new horizon in the diplomatic and business relationships between the two friendly countries, he hoped and assured all out support and cooperation from his side to implement a bilateral understanding between Bangladesh and Thailand embassies.
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem emphasized the need for strengthening the already established good relationship between Bangladesh and Thailand.
She said Bangladesh is a member of BIMSTEC and could be considered by Thailand as a hub to integrate it with other ASEAN countries.
The ambassador said involvement of a big company like Ital-Thai Development Company Limited for construction of an Elevated Express way and an agro-industrial and food conglomerate CP Bangladesh Co. Ltd are the proof of Thailand’s interest to consider Bangladesh as an investment destination.
She suggested for establishing strategic partnership to set up labour intensive industries in Bangladesh.
President of Thai-Bangladesh Business Council (TBBC) Mingpant Chaya, International Chamber of Commerce President Mahbubur Rahman and other business leaders were present at the meeting, among others.
