Committee supports Turkey FTA

The Fourth Meeting of the Thai-Turkish Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (JETC) has agreed to help expedite negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Thailand and Turkey.

The plan is to increase bilateral trade to US$2 billion (65.6 billion baht), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on Thursday held talks with the Minister of Industry and Technology of Turkey -- Mustafa Varank. Together, they co-chaired the JETC in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The meeting aired cooperation under the JETC framework some 20 years after the previous edition was held in 2003. Both sides expressed their intention to use high-level dialogue to enhance relations, especially amid common geopolitical challenges concerning food and energy security.

They also discussed issues of mutual interest such as speeding up FTA talks to boost trade and enhance investment, especially in Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, and to provide potential areas of cooperation in science and technology, renewable energy, the Bio-Circular-Green Economic Model and the defence industry.

After, Mr Don and Mr Varank presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding on development ties between the Thailand International Cooperation Agency and the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency.

They also signed the minutes of the latest JETC meeting, which will serve as a guideline for future cooperation focusing on the development of economic and technical cooperation.