On 8 November 2012, H.E. Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Recep Teyyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey, in Bali, Indonesia, on the sideline of the Bali Democracy Forum.

The Prime Minister said that Turkish economy has been strong. Turkey’s competitive advantage also lies on its strategic geopolitical location, enabling Turkey to be an aviation hub, energy corridor and a link between Asia, Central Asia, Middle East and Europe. On the other hand, Thailand locates at the center of ASEAN, serving as the ASEAN gateway linking intra-ASEAN communication and further extended to China and India.

The two Prime Ministers agreed to use their countries’ strategic locations as their regional hubs for each other, linking ASEAN, East Asia, Middle East, South Asia and Europe, and as a basis to deepen their bilateral relations.

“Thailand and Turkey celebrated their 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations in 2008. However, over the past ten years the number of high-level visits has been very low. Therefore, I proposed for more frequent exchange of high-level visits between the two countries, both the public and private sectors, as the channel to continuously push forward bilateral economic cooperation.”

“I also expressed my appreciation to the Turkish Government for the exemption of tourist visa to holders of Thai ordinary passports, effective from 6 August 2012. Thailand believes that the agreement will greatly help facilitate the movement between peoples and stimulate business and tourism between the two countries.”

“Experience and opinions on the economic situation have been shared, especially to boost confidence on the Thai economy. At the moment, Thailand’s inflation and unemployment rates are low. The economy is expected to grow at 5.5% thanks to strong domestic consumption and stable public and private investment. The Government has also set aside a budget worth 65 billion euros for large scale infrastructure projects in transportation, telecommunications and energy over the next five years.  Participation from Turkish investors is therefore welcome,” said the first Thai female Prime Minister.

H.E. Ms. Yingluck highlighted that it is important to raise awareness of the two countries’ business people of both countries’ great economic potential for more economic activities.  Potential areas of cooperation between the private sectors include shipbuilding industry, spa products and services, textile and IT.  A Joint venture in a third country in construction industry which Turkey has expertise is also a possibility.

Source: Thai News Agency

Spokesman Bureau of the Thai Government

Unofficial Translation by Ms Wichulee Chotbenjakul