Expectations to upgrade Vietnam - Thailand relations

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam Urawadee Sriphiromya - Photo: VGP/Thuy Dung

At the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh , Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Paetongtarn Shinawatra will lead a high-ranking delegation from the Royal Thai Government to pay an official visit to Vietnam and co-chair the 4th Meeting of the Vietnam - Thailand Joint Cabinet from May 15-16, 2025.

Speaking to the Government E-newspaper ahead of the visit, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya said that Vietnam and Thailand have a close and warm relationship on all fronts. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's upcoming visit to Vietnam takes place at a time when the two countries are preparing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations - an important milestone in the history of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Thailand.

During this visit, the two countries expect to upgrade their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, demonstrating a strong commitment to enhancing coordination and jointly formulating long-term development strategies for the sustainable prosperity of each country and the happiness of the people of the two countries. This is the most profound and important meaning of this visit.

The visit takes place in the context of the region, including Thailand and Vietnam, facing international instability and geopolitical and geo-economic fluctuations. In this context, this is an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to discuss and seek solutions to enhance cooperation, support each other to overcome challenges, and at the same time firmly consolidate the economic foundation and promote regional relations, as active members of ASEAN.

According to the Ambassador, the contents of the exchange during this visit will be quite comprehensive.

Specifically, regarding political cooperation, the two countries' leaders will discuss measures to enhance coordination to respond to new challenges such as drugs and cyber security, especially preventing, combating and handling threats from cyberspace.

In the economic field, the two leaders will discuss measures to facilitate bilateral trade. Despite facing many challenges from within the region and the world, in 2024, the total import-export turnover between Vietnam and Thailand will reach 20.18 billion USD, up 6.4% over the previous year.

Thailand is currently Vietnam’s 7th largest trading partner and Vietnam’s largest partner in ASEAN. The two countries are making constant efforts to soon achieve the goal of increasing trade turnover to 25 billion USD in the near future.

In addition, the leaders of the two countries will discuss measures to promote cooperation in the field of logistics and supply chains. Vietnam and Thailand still have great potential for cooperation in transportation, especially transporting goods from Thailand through Vietnam for export to China.

Vietnam remains Thailand's top investment destination

Regarding investment cooperation, investors from Thailand have been present in Vietnam for a long time. Some Thai enterprises have been operating in Vietnam for 30 years, doing business in many industries and fields.

"Through contact with the business sector, I realized that investors are very confident in the potential and policies to support investment promotion in Vietnam. They believe that Vietnam is Thailand's number 1 investment destination abroad," Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya expressed.

Thai investors are always in the top 10 foreign investors in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of about 14 billion USD. Typical examples are the Go shopping malls of Central Retail Group, the industrial parks of Amata Group, and the SCG Group with many large projects, including a petrochemical project in Vietnam worth more than 4 billion USD.

Currently, many Thai enterprises are also investing in the renewable energy sector, contributing to ensuring energy security in Vietnam.

In addition, many Thai businesses are operating in Vietnam in other fields such as banking, typically Kasikorn Bank, one of Thailand's leading banks, is cooperating with Vietnam to implement innovation initiatives; and Thai Beverage Group with the Dusit Thani Hotel preparing to open in Vietnam.

Travel and tourism between Vietnam and Thailand are currently very convenient, as evidenced by the fact that Vietnamese citizens are exempted from Thai visas for up to 60 days. In the spirit of promoting deeper tourism cooperation, during her visit to Vietnam last February, Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa discussed with the Vietnamese side the "6 countries, 1 destination" initiative.

Grasping the great demand from Thai people in particular and ASEAN countries in general who want to travel to Vietnam or visit relatives, the Ambassador recommended that Vietnam should expand flights and develop more means of transport by road and water connecting with ASEAN countries, in order to promote tourism and enhance exchanges between Vietnam and countries in the region.

In addition to the above important contents, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya said that the leaders of the two countries will focus on discussing measures to promote the "three connections" strategy to bring benefits to the people of the two countries, including: (1) connecting supply chains, (2) connecting local economies and transport infrastructure; (3) connecting sustainable development strategies.

The Ambassador said that with the two countries focusing on sustainable development policies and environmentally friendly economies, the two Prime Ministers will also discuss this topic.

According to Ms. Urawadee Sriphiromya, Vietnam is making great strides in the field of technology, especially artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics. This stems from the vision of Vietnamese leaders in prioritizing economic development based on the application of new technology. Therefore, cooperation in developing human resources for these high-tech industries will also be a topic discussed by the leaders of the two countries in the upcoming meeting.

Thuy Dung

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/ky-vong-nang-cap-quan-he-viet-nam-thai-lan-102250513110548266.htm