Thailand is planning measures to double the number of tourists from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region within two years from the current annual rate of 300,000, according to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.
Mr Srettha made the remark during his speech at the Asean-GCC Riyadh Summit yesterday at the Ritz-Carlton in the Saudi Arabian capital.
"We will continue to enhance our hospitality services, including health and wellness tourism. Many Thai Muslims can speak Arabic, which will be useful in providing healthcare services for GCC nationals," he said.
He stressed that Thailand also stands ready to share its expertise in medical and wellness tourism and tourism management.
"We can work toward a visa-free scheme as well as Open Sky connectivity between our two regions," he added.
Mr Srettha said Asean and the GCC both have ambitious people-centric visions that are sustainable and future-proof.
Their cooperation should be guided by "innovative partnerships for a sustainable future", he said.
Apart from stronger people-to-people ties, Mr Srettha highlighted two potential areas of cooperation.
First, Thailand supports seamless trade and investment by reducing barriers. The establishment of the Asean-GCC Business Forum to promote closer private-sector ties should be explored in depth, he said.
It is crucial to negotiate a Thai-GCC FTA to further Thailand's current trade value of US$40 billion, the premier noted, saying he would seek the resumption of a feasibility study on such a pact.
As the "Kitchen of the World", Thailand is ready to share its best practices in agriculture and food innovation to ensure food security, Mr Srettha said.
The nation also hopes to cooperate with the GCC on halal science, he noted.
Second, Thailand has adopted green growth as it transitions to net-zero emissions. To promote green and sustainable financing, the nation will issue a new sustainability-linked bond next year, he said, and any GCC partners are welcome to join the project to achieve the SDGs together.
"I wish to reaffirm Thailand's commitment to further strengthen the partnership between our two regions," he said.