Thailand to host 3rd Thai-Vietnamese Joint Cabinet Retreat

NAY PYI TAW, MYANMAR, November 12 (TNA) - Thailand and Vietnam have agreed to hold their 3rd Joint Cabinet Retreat in the Thai Kingdom, with the exact date to be later fixed and announced. The agreement was reached in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's capital, on Wednesday during bilateral talks between Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister General Tanasak Patimapragorn and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh, on the sidelines of the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related forums. The bilateral discussion was aimed at strengthening Thailand-Vietnam strategic partnership and cooperation. General Tanasak is accompanying Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha to attend the 25th ASEAN Summit and related forums, being held in the Myanmar capital from November 12-13. Thailand, under the previous government of then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, initiated the Thailand-Vietnam Joint Cabinet Retreat, with the first meeting held in the Vietnamese City of Danang in 2004 and the second one in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, in 2012, when the Thai government was then headed by Thaksin's younger sister, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Also on the sidelines of the ongoing ASEAN Summit, General Tanasak held talks with His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei, to discuss ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two ASEAN neighbours. During the meeting, General Tanasak thanked Brunei for understanding and supporting Thailand’s efforts to address insurgency in the Thai far South. HRH Prince Bolkiah, in turn, expressed interest in expanding Brunei's business cooperation with Thailand to other areas, namely agriculture, food and fishery, while maintaining bilateral cooperation in oil and gas projects. (TNA)