Viet Nam is a highly important partner in terms of economy, politics, and strategy to not only Thailand but also the entire Southeast Asia, Spokesman of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tanee Sangrat has said.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place on November 18 - 19. (Photo: Bangkok Post)

He made the remarks in an interview granted to the Viet Nam News Agency on the sidelines of the ministry’s press conference that provided an update about Thailand’s preparations for the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

Sangrat noted Thailand is currently the largest trading partner of Viet Nam in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which in turn is also the former’s biggest investment destination.

Thailand welcomed more than 1 million tourists from Viet Nam before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, so Viet Nam is also both a major tourist destination and a big source of foreign visitors to Thailand, he went on.

The official said Viet Nam is an active member and important economic partner in APEC, and it also used to host APEC economic leaders’ meetings. Therefore, Thailand, Viet Nam, and other APEC members will work closely together to prepare for the member economies to become more sustainable in the future.

About the prospects of relations between Viet Nam and Thailand, which will mark the 10th anniversary of their strategic partnership next year, he held that the two countries hold enormous cooperation potential.

Viet Nam is an emerging economy with fast growth and a relatively young population, making it an important market for Thailand and other countries as well as a significant investment destination for his country, Sangrat added.

Expressing his hope for stronger ties, he recommended the two countries exert more efforts to enhance the strength and continuity of bilateral supply chains to manufacture products in the region.

The former Thai ambassador to Viet Nam also highlighted the strong social links between the countries, elaborating that there is a large Vietnamese-Thai community in Thailand and many Vietnamese people also used to live in his country.

Given this, utmost efforts should be made to nurture the faithful friendship between the two peoples, he suggested.

Source: VNA