Single visa with Cambodia to be discussed
Play
Foreign ministers from Thailand and Cambodia will discuss the possibility of launching a single visa at the eighth Joint Commission meeting next week, a senior official at the Foreign Affairs Ministry said yesterday.
Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul and his Cambodian counterpart Hor Namhong will co-chair the meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss several issues, including the single-visa initiative.
The idea of a joint visa for visitors to both Thailand and Cambodia has been mooted as a way to boost tourism.
If the two countries could agree on the single-visa policy, it might pave the way for a single visa for the five countries of the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), said Damrong Kraikruan, director-general of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s East Asia Department.
The ACMECS visa scheme would be similar to the Schengen visa, which allows entry to many European countries. ACMECS comprises Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, but only Thailand and Cambodia have expressed interest in launching the single-visa policy as a pilot project, Damrong said.
Other issues on the Joint Commission table will include infrastructure connectivity, the road link between Trat and Sre Ambel in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province, as well the opening of a border checkpoint between Ban Nong Aian in Sa Kaew province and Stung Bot in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey province.
