Vietnamese-Thai Cabinet meeting set in July 2015

BANGKOK, May 26 (TNA) - Vietnam and Thailand will hold their fresh joint Cabinet meeting in Bangkok in July 2015. Visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Thai counterpart General Tanasak Patimapragorn discussed preparations for the joint Cabinet meeting in Andaman coastal Phuket Province in the Thai South on May 25. The Thai deputy prime minister and foreign minister told journalists that he and his Vietnamese counterpart also discussed preparations for an upcoming visit to Thailand by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and for joint celebrations of the 40th anniversary of Thai-Vietnamese diplomatic relations next year. Besides, both sides plan to sign agreements on labour cooperation, employment and sister city partnership between Thailand's northeastern Ubon Ratchathani Province and Vietnam's Kon Tum, and Trat and Long An Provinces. According to the Thai deputy prime minister, Vietnam and Thailand also plan to raise the value of bilateral trade to 20 billion US dollars by 2020, from 15 billion US dollars currently. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese deputy prime minister and foreign minister promised to discuss with relevant agencies on Thailand's request for Vietnam to relieve import barriers against four Thai fruits, including mango, lychee, longan and rambutan. The Vietnamese side also agreed to host a Thai-Lao-Vietnamese meeting to discuss their cross-border bus service, while the Thai side will organize a meeting to promote coastal transport between Thailand and Vietnam in August 2015. The Vietnamese deputy prime minister and foreign minister is visiting Thailand and Myanmar from May 24-29 to strengthen relations among the neighboring countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). (TNA)