Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has invited leading companies in Australia to invest in electric vehicle (EV) batteries, clean energy, and transport logistics in Thailand.
Mr Srettha is currently attending the 2024 Asean-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, Australia to celebrate 50 years since Australia became Asean's first dialogue partner. The summit kicked off on Monday and is due to wrap up on Wednesday.
The prime minister held talks with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Tuesday.
Mr Srettha said the discussion was a follow-up on the visit to Thailand last month of the governor-general of Australia, David Hurley.
Thailand is ready to boost bilateral trade, investment, tourism and cooperation in technology and innovation under the Joint Declaration on the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, he said.
Mr Srettha also invited the Australian prime minister to pay an official visit to Thailand this year.
They discussed a range of topics, particularly the Thailand-Australia FTA, which has driven bilateral trade to grow by 186%, Mr Srettha said. Efforts will be made to improve the agreement in line with changing circumstances, he noted.
Mr Srettha also met Andrew Forrest, executive chairman and founder of Fortescue, a global metal mining and green energy company which also makes EV batteries. Its 2023 sales were as high as A$16.8 million (about 390.5 million baht).
He said Fortescue expressed interest in investing in the production of hydrogen batteries and green hydrogen in Thailand.
The prime minister also held talks with Peter Fox, executive chairman of Linfox, Asia Pacific's largest privately-owned logistics company, which has had its regional office in Bangkok since 1993.
Mr Srettha said the company has kept investing in Thailand and plans to expand its transport logistics operations in the country.
Linfox operates more than 2,000 cargo trucks daily, he said, adding that the company plans to establish a regional traffic control fleet in Thailand, which will transfer new technologies to the country and create more jobs.
Mr Srettha discussed a raft of bilateral projects with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone at the summit.
He posted on his X account that a project to build a new railway bridge across the Mekong River is being studied, while the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge will open this year.
Construction of the latter, which connects Bueng Kan province with Laos' Bolikhamsai province, is now 90% complete.
The premier said Thailand is designing a new railway bridge to cross the Mekong, aimed at facilitating transport within six years.
He asked Mr Sonexay to move faster in determining a Common Control Area (CCA) location to reduce shipping costs.