Thailand to host first CLMVT Forum June 16-18

BANGKOK, June 10 (TNA) - Thailand will host a CLMVT forum, the first of its kind, in Bangkok during June 16-18 to promote collective growth with fellow member countries in the ASEAN Community (AC), namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Thai Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn announced on Friday that the CLMVT Forum 2016, themed "Towards a Shared Prosperity", with be held at the Dusit Thani Hotel. As past trade negotiations did not progress significantly among the five countries, Apiradi said, the upcoming CLMVT Forum 2016 should be an opportunity for their authorities tasked with trade, investment and tourism policies, as well as leading business operators, well-known entrepreneurs and academics to exchange views on how to remove trade, investment and business barriers among the neighboring countries. Apiradi told journalists that participating business operators will be able to air the barriers they have faced to address the root causes. The Thai commerce minister expressed her hope that CLMVT should be a new economic engine of Asia and protect the region from global economic fluctuations. Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul then told reporters that during the three-day forum, participating tourism authorities will discuss the distribution of tourism-related income to minor towns in the CLMVT countries. According to the tourism and sports minister, the five countries have welcomed a total of 52 million international tourists annually, 40 of them have travelled within the neighbouring countries where the number is expected to exceed 50 per cent in the future. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce assessed that Thailand's trade with the CLMV group should further expand, after the trade value with the neighboring countries reached 353.31 billion baht during the first four months of this year, a 1.73 per cent year-on-year increase. The ministry stated that it plans to lead Thai business operators to CLMV in the near future to explore business opportunities and develop networks with local operators. Besides, Thai business operators can discuss business opportunities and regulations with officials at the Thai commercial offices in the four neighboring countries and the offices are ready to arrange meetings between them and their counterparts. (TNA)