Thailand and Brunei forge deeper ties to boost bilateral trade

livus, 7 months ago

From the article:

The Thai prime minister noted that the upcoming 40th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relations offers an opportunity to deepen these ties.

“An important new area of cooperation between Thailand and Brunei is the promotion of food security between the two countries.”

Considering Brunei’s regular importation of rice and sugar from Thailand, the focus on food security is strategically relevant.

The leaders also agreed to develop the Halal food market between their nations, providing Thailand with more chances to export Halal-certified chicken. PM Srettha expressed his interest in attracting more Brunei citizens to Thailand for medical tourism, a sector where Thailand already enjoys respect from Middle Eastern clients boosting bilateral trade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported a 29% year-on-year growth in trade between Thailand and Brunei last year, valuing roughly 29 billion baht. The 61 year old Thai PM extended an invitation to the Brunei Investment Agency (BIA) to invest in high-capacity areas within Thailand, such as the service industry, tourism, and infrastructure, according to government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke.

Chai stated that further bilateral cooperation in the energy sector was discussed and agreed upon during the meeting. PM Srettha acknowledged the growing popularity of Thai products in Brunei, which has led to the Thai embassy in Brunei planning additional trade shows for Thai products...