Thai PM satisfied with official trips to Tajikistan, Pakistan

BANGKOK, August 21 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has expressed satisfaction with her official visits to Tajikistan and Pakistan, scheduled for August 19-21, saying that she believes the trips will facilitate Thai investment in the two countries. After finishing her official visits to Tajikistan and Pakistan on Wednesday, Yingluck told reporters that she considers Tajikistan as a potential market for Thailand and her delegation talked with Tajikistani authorities to facilitate Thai business operators’ opportunities in the Central Asian country. Besides, Yingluck acknowledged that Tajikistan has always supported Thailand, especially on solutions in the violence-plagued Thai far South, and that she has invited the leader of Tajikistan to visit Thailand. Regarding Pakistan, Yingluck noted that one-sixth of Muslims worldwide live in the Southern Asian nation and her visit was, thus, aimed at creating balance in South Asia and exploring more investment opportunities for Thai business operators. According to the Thai Prime Minister, her discussions in Pakistan covered a free trade agreement (FTA), taxes on industrial products and security information. The Thai Prime Minister’s last mission in Pakistan during her August 20-21 trip was her meeting with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the Pakistani Presidential Office at about noon on Wednesday (local time), during which the President welcomed her first visit to Pakistan and considered it as reflecting sound bilateral relations between Islamabad and Bangkok, which have continued for over six decades. The Thai leader, in turn, expressed her pleasure for both countries having exchanged the visits of their high-level officials, revealing that Pakistani authorities also agreed with the Thai government’s attempts to convince local people to accept the diversity of compatriots and harmonious co-existence. (TNA)