Thailand, Japan confirm close ties

BANGKOK, October 2 (TNA) - Thailand and Japan have emphasized on sound bilateral diplomatic relations, which have steadily continued for 127 years so far. Visiting Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Kiuchi and Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also Chief of the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), stressed on the sound bilateral relations between Thailand and Japan during their meeting at Bangkok's Government House on Thursday. General Prayuth welcomed the Japanese vice minister in his capacity as a special representative of the Japanese government, as well as Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Shigekazu Sato, expressing his gratitude towards the Japanese government for honoring the Thai government and affirming that his administration is ready to cooperate with Tokyo in all respects. It is the first time for Prime Minister Prayuth to welcome a representative of foreign country after taking office recently. Thai Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp, who attended the meeting, later told journalists that the arrival of the special representative of the Japanese government showed the sound relations and economic significance, as Japan is one of Thailand's major trading partners in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce reported that the value of two-way trade between Thailand and Japan amounted to 63.4 billion US dollars last year, when Japan was Thailand's second largest trading partner, after China, while Thailand's exports to Japan alone amounted to 22.2 billion US dollars and imports from Japan stood around 31.6 billion US dollars. According to the Ministry of Commerce's report, the value of bilateral trade between Thailand and Japan amounted to 28.9 billion US dollars in the first half of this year, comprising 17.9 billion US dollars worth of Thai imports from Japan and 11 billion US dollars worth of Thai exports to Japan. (TNA)