Keidanren chief, Abhisit agree to boost ties in Mekong development

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BANGKOK, Nov. 30 Kyodo -
Fujio Mitarai, the head of Japan's most powerful business lobby, and Thai Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva agreed Monday to deepen bilateral cooperation in the
development of roads and harbors in the Mekong region.
Mitarai, the chairman of the Japan Business Federation, also known as Nippon
Keidanren, and Abhisit also agreed to boost Japan-Thailand cooperation in such
areas as trade and investment amid the prolonged economic slump in Japan, the
United States and Europe, a Keidanren official said.
In their meeting in Bangkok, Abhisit sought Japan's cooperation to make
Thailand a ''low-carbon society'' by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, while
the Keidanren chief expressed his intention to expand bilateral cooperation in
such areas as energy-saving technology.
The Thai prime minister also called on Japan and Japanese companies to actively
invest in the country to promote development of the transportation network such
as railways and roads, as well as industrial infrastructure, the official said.
Abhisit also indicated that Thailand will accelerate efforts to facilitate
customs procedures and reduce tariffs within the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations.
Mitarai said it is necessary to quickly promote economic partnerships among
ASEAN, Japan, China and South Korea, the official said.
''Expansion of the market and revitalization of trade and investment through
regional economic integration will be important,'' Mitarai was quoted by the
official as telling Abhisit.
Prior to the meeting with Abhisit, Mitarai had talks with Surin Pitsuwan,
secretary general of the ASEAN secretariat, and basically agreed to strengthen
ties in exchanging information to move forward with regional economic
integration, the official said.
==Kyodo
2009-11-30 23:34:20