Thai PM leaves for China for two-day official visit

BANGKOK, December 22 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha has left for Beijing for a two-day official visit to China, scheduled for December 22-23, aimed to strengthen bilateral ties and materialise cooperation in various areas. Accompanied by his entourage, including his spouse, Naraporn Chan-ocha, Foreign Minister General Thanasak Patimaprakorn and Deputy Transport Minister Arkom Termpitayapaisit, who is also Secretary-General to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), Prime Minister General Prayut departed Bangkok on Monday morning. During his stay in Beijing, the Thai premier is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang and to co-witness the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MOUs) concerning a debt settlement in the form of China’s yuan currency, an extension of an existing agreement on the exchange of yuan and the Thai baht, academic cooperation on water resources and irrigation and cooperation between the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the People’s Bank of China. The Thai prime minister is also scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People's Congress Zhang DeJiang and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Thai leader will also visit China's train control centre for a test ride of a high speed train from Beijing to Tianjin. (TNA)