Tajikistan, Vanuatu leaders to visit Thailand

BANKGOK, May 10 (TNA) - Thailand will welcome top leaders of Tajikistan and Vanuatu next week. Tajikistan's President Emomalii Rahmon will officially visit Thailand from May 17-19, during which he will also attend the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Chiang Mai province in the Thai North on May 19. Thailand and Tajikistan celebrated the 20th anniversary of their diplomatic relations last year and the upcoming trip to Thailand by the Tajik President is expected to further strengthen bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), which Thailand initiated in 2002 to promote cooperation among Asian nations. Tajikistan is the current chair of the ACD. Vanuatu Prime Minister Moana Carcasses Kalosil will then pay his official visit to Thailand from May 18-23, during which he will meet Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to discuss the promotion of bilateral relations, trade and investment and the development of both countries and the region. Besides, both prime ministers will then witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on technical cooperation on education, agriculture, public health, sustainable development, trade and investment. It will be the first visit to Thailand by a Vanuatu prime minister and the first official overseas trip of Kalosil as well, after he took office on March 23, 2013. (TNA)