Lanka, Maldives eyed for trade boost with Kingdom

Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom said Thailand would forge closer cooperation with these two South Asian countries under the Kingdom’s strategy to penetrate new markets. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will lead a team of representatives from government economic agencies and private enterprises to visit Sri Lanka and Maldives  from tomorrow to Sunday.
Boonsong said he would sign an agreement on trade and economic cooperation with Maldives’ minister of economic development. The cooperation will emphasise tourism, education, agriculture, fishery, food processing, development of small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure development, healthcare service, logistics, and construction.
Yingluck will also lead Thai economic ministers to agree cooperation with Sri Lanka on many key issues, he added.
According to a report by the Trade Negotiations Department, Sri Lanka is Thailand’s fourth-largest trading partner in South Asia, after India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The average value of bilateral trade during the past three years was US$536.6 million (Bt16.18 billion). Two-way trade value was $545.31 million last year. Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus of $361.5 million.
Maldives ranks as Thailand’s 104th-largest trade partner. Average annual trade in the past five years was worth $40.33 million, growing by 9.07 per cent a year.