Ministers agree to trade figure doubling

 After the fourth meeting during Feb 22-23, Thailand's Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and Nam Viyaketh, Lao Minister of Industry and Commerce, they endorsed the official study to double the trade figure from $3.9 billion in 2011.
 In a statement from the ministry, both will cooperate in facilitating trade and investment, ending barriers to entry, forging academic cooperation for an exchange of data and regulations, and promoting cooperation in the private sector.
 Thailand is now the third largest foreign investor in Laos after Vietnam and China, with combined investment of $1.4 billion. In 2011, Thailand exported $2.79 billion and imported $1.13 billion.