Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday pushed ahead with negotiations to establish a free-trade arrangement with the European Union (EU) to boost Thai exports to the bloc, with which it no longer has any trade privileges.
The issue was discussed during a bilateral meeting between Yingluck and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Thailand and the EU have been exploring the possibility of kick-starting negotiations for a free-trade agreement. Yingluck said any such pact would be of benefit to Thai farmers who produced agricultural items for the European market. Exports of Thai farm products to the EU have declined recently as the Kingdom graduated from the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) scheme.
A free trade agreement would reduce EU import duties and other trade barriers that would eventually benefit Thai farmers, she said.
At the meeting Yingluck also discussed the euro-zone debt crisis with Van Rompuy. He said the EU had issued economic packages to relieve the crisis.
Rompuy also asked about flood disaster management in Thailand and Yingluck said her government had a number of measures to handle and prevent future major floods.
Separately, Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul, who accompanied the prime minister to New York, held a bilateral meeting with Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabian deputy foreign minister, to explore ways to improve diplomatic ties.
It was the first such meeting between Thailand and Saudi Arabia in 20 years since the two kingdoms downgraded diplomatic relations following a controversial jewellery crime and the murder of Saudi diplomats, Surapong said.
Surapong, who chairs a special committee on Saudi issues, told the Saudi prince that Thailand was ready to provide more information on the controversial cases to Riyadh if it requested them.
The meeting was a step to pave the way to improve relations, Surapong said - but he could not guarantee how far it would go.
"At least we have to show our sincerity [in wanting] to upgrade relations," he said. Representatives of the Department of Special Investigation visited Saudi Arabia recently to update Riyadh on the progress of the jewellery and murder case, he said.
The Nation
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Source: http://www.news.thethailandlinks.com/2012/09/27/pm-discusses-trade-with-eu-in-ny/
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