Thai, Myanmar bodies sign 18 MoUs

Thai, Myanmar bodies sign 18 MoUs

Thailand and Myanmar signed 18 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) yesterday as part of a closer strategic partnership between the two countries.

Panitarn Pavarolavidya, chairman of the Thai-Myanmar Business Council and deputy secretary-general of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said 16 MoUs were signed by the private sectors of the two countries, with ambitious plans to increase Thai investment in Myanmar.

Two MoUs were signed by governments -- one for an emergency unit at Dawei and another on fishery cooperation.

The signing was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who headed the Thai trade delegation that will be in Myanmar from Feb 2-5. The delegation comprises PTT Plc, Siam Cement Group and Ch. Karnchang Plc, and it is due to meet a team of Myanmar officials including an adviser to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mr Panitarn said the MoUs mainly cover cooperation on small and medium-size enterprise (SME) development, industrial estate development, and joint investment. For instance, the Pan Group plans to team up with Apexworld to build the first shoe factory in Myawaddy, manufacturing 1 million shoes a month, while Mitr Phol Group, Asia's biggest sugar producer, will join forces with Suenno to develop a sugar cane industry in Myanmar.

FT Energy agreed to provide energy advice and infrastructure development to Delco in Myanmar, while the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber and Industry (UMFCCI) on human resource development.

The private sector also agreed on digital development, with T2P cooperating with Citymart Group to build e-wallet and e-gift platforms, and GS1 working with MIA to develop barcode technology in Myanmar.

Thailand's FTI also agreed to partner with UMFCCI to develop software standards in Myanmar.

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