Thai PM to attend GMS meeting in Japan

BANGKOK, June 17 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha is scheduled to visit Japan early next month to attend the 7th Mekong-Japan Summit. Deputy Government Spokesman Major General Werachon Sukondhapatipak told journalists of the prime minister's upcoming trip, after new Japanese Ambassador to Thailand Shiro Sadoshima paid a courtesy call on the Thai premier at Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday, during which the newly-appointed Japanese top envoy said Japan is ready to welcome the Thai prime minister to the summit. The deputy spokesman stated that member countries of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) and Japan are expected to agree on proceeding with their joint investment projects at the upcoming meeting. GMS member countries include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and China's Yunnan Province. According to the deputy spokesman, the new Japanese top envoy and the Thai premier also discussed Japan’s investment plans on new railway construction and other infrastructure development projects in Thailand, as well as those in the Dawei special economic zone in Myanmar. The deputy government spokesman revealed that Japan is also considering Thailand’s request for importing more Thai farm products, including rice, rubber, pork, mangoes and sugar. The deputy government spokesman acknowledged that representatives of Japan's Commerce Ministry and processed food industry, as well as the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will visit Thailand next week to study business matching and the possibility of purchasing more Thai farm produce. Besides, the Japanese delegation will meet Thai commercial authorities on June 26 to consider Thai products under the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) and to plan negotiations between agriculture ministers of both countries in the near future. (TNA)