Thailand and Vietnam have set a goal to increase bilateral trade value to US$25 billion by 2025.
Speaking at the Thailand-Vietnam Business Forum 2023 held yesterday in Bangkok, Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and president of the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association, said the goal could be achieved through various mechanisms, such as bilateral cooperation or within frameworks like the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, the Greater Mekong Subregion or Asean.
"The private sectors in both countries are prepared to actively drive this initiative. In the Thai private sector, we are committed to collaboratively promoting trade, closely cooperating in investment and being strategic partners, where both countries are trading allies, not competitors," said Mr Sanan.
"Vietnam is considered a true friend of Thailand, working together to enhance our mutual strengths moving forward."
He said over the past few years, the governments and private sectors of the two countries have jointly established working panels, especially the Thailand-Vietnam Business Council and the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam.
On the Thai side, the collaboration Team Thailand Plus was set up to bridge the government and the private sector, providing a platform for listening to proposals and relevant strategies for developing trade and investment in Vietnam through the Thai embassy in Hanoi.
Last year, bilateral trade between Thailand and Vietnam tallied $21.2 billion, up by 8.74% from the year before. Of the total, exports from Thailand totalled $13.3 billion, up 5.73%, and imports from Vietnam were worth $7.93 billion, a gain of 14.2%.
However, the value of bilateral trade in the first half of this year fell by 10.5% year-on-year to $9.5 billion. This consisted of exports totalling $5.53 billion, which declined by 17.5%, and imports amounting to $3.97 billion, which increased by 1.49%.
Thanakrit Sermsuksan, executive vice-president of the Thai Startup Association, said Thailand should work with Vietnam in improving and developing startup ecology and invest in this sector in Southeast Asia as it would help both nations to mutually develop their economies.
He said Southeast Asia has the largest number of application users, especially in Thailand and Vietnam.
However, most of the applications used by people in this region were made by foreign startups which made revenue for foreigners, therefore, he suggested that it is necessary for Southeast Asian countries to work together to develop local startups and invest in locals to gain more income.