ID :
484130
Mon, 03/12/2018 - 10:11
Auther :

EU-ABC, EABA back renegotiation of EU-Thailand FTA

BANGKOK, March 12 (TNA) - Two key private business institutions of the European Union (EU), including the EU-ASEAN Business Council (EU-ABC) and the Europe-ASEAN Business Alliance (EABA), have supported the renegotiation of the EU-Thailand Free Trade Area (FTA) following a temporary suspension over the past few years. Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Chutima Bunyapraphasara told journalists on March 11 that representatives of the EU-ABC and EABA, led by EU-ABC Chairman Donald Kanak and EABA Executive Director Geoff Donald, raised the issue while holding talks with her on the sidelines of the 24th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Retreat, held in Singapore during March 1-2. Chutima noted that both the EU-ABC and the EABA delegations voiced support for the return to FTA talks between EU and Thailand after the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted conclusions on Thailand in December 2017, reaffirming the importance that the EU attaches to its relations with Thailand at all levels. Chutima said that both the EU-ABC and the EABA delegations also expressed their appreciation to Thailand's trade and economic development. The senior official revealed that she stressed on the Thai government's policy on providing facilitations on trade and investment to international business firms and on further pushing for reduced trade barriers in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in order to boost their confidence in the Thai economy. The senior official mentioned that the EABA delegates also expressed their interest in the Thailand 4.0 Policy and benefits from China's One Belt One Road Policy. According to the senior official, the EU-ABC and the EABA plan to send their delegations to Thailand later this year, during which they are welcome to pay a visit to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Project in the Thai East to gather their first-handed information on investment potential in the area. (TNA)

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