The government will join its Malaysian counterpart at the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) meeting this Thursday which aims to boost bilateral trade to US$30 billion by 2025.
Chotima Iemsawasdikul, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai will attend the third JTC meeting between Thailand and Malaysia on Thursday in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.
The meeting will be Thailand's first JTC meeting with an Asean country this year, said Ms Chotima. It would boost trade between the two countries from $25 billion in 2023 to $30 billion by next year and accelerate Malaysia's move to open markets for more Thai agricultural products, she said.
In addition, both countries will seek to form new partnerships which will benefit their economies and entrepreneurs under Mr Phumtham's policy to promote trade, reduce trade obstacles and enable bilateral trade. The meeting also will be an opportunity foster economic connections along the border.
Other plans, including the formation of a task force on cross-border trade and investment and the construction of a road to connect the Sadao immigration checkpoint in Songkhla and Malaysia's checkpoint across the border, will be discussed as well.
Malaysia is Thailand's number one trading partner in Asean and ranks fourth overall. Trade between the countries totalled $25 billion last year and $10.787 billion during the first five months of this year.
Exports to Malaysia totalled $5 billion while imports totalled US$5.7 billion. Popular exports include cars, auto parts and computers parts while common imports include crude oil, circuit boards and chemical products.
