Pheu Thai, Cambodian party heads talk tourism, regional unity, trade

Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra arrived in Cambodia on Monday, following an invitation by former Prime Minister Hun Sen, president of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, who has a close tie with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Paetongtarn’s father.

Pheu Thai and CPP held a bilateral meeting on Monday evening in a session presided over by Hun Sen, with the summary of the meeting being provided by Pheu Thai’s secretary general Sorawong Thienthong on Tuesday, as follows:

Hun Sen urged both parties to grant opportunities for new-generation politicians to improve their potential and take part in projects that benefit the people. Saying that new-generation people will become a strong foundation for the party in the future, Hun Sen noted that the CCP currently boasts over 7 million members, or nearly half of that country’s population.

Hu Sen added that the CPP agreed with the ‘6 Countries 1 Destination’ initiative which Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin recently presented to the ASEAN Summit. He said the initiative, which aims to promote mutual tourism among Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, is in line with the Cambodian party’s policy of seamless tourism in the ASEAN region to facilitate cultural exchange while boosting income among local communities.

Pheu Thai’s Sorawong said his party representatives has proposed to set up a political party-level taskforce to boost cross-border trading between Thailand and Cambodia, as well as to enhance peace and stability along the border area by removing war-era landmines.

The taskforce would be joined by MPs of seven provinces that share borders with Cambodia, and would work toward the government’s target of securing 525 billion baht of trade volume with Cambodia by 2025, he added.