Japan, Thailand expected to ink deal with Myanmar on Dawei Economic Zone in July 2015

BANGKOK, May 11 (TNA) - A tripartite deal on the joint development of the Dawei Economic Zone is expected to be signed by Japan, Myanmar and Thailand in July 2015. Thai Government Spokesman Dr. Yongyuth Mayalarp told journalists that Japan has expressed its readiness to sign the tripartite agreement in July 2015. The spokesman said that the stance was conveyed by visiting Special Adviser to Japanese Prime Minister Hiroto Izumi during his meeting with Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha in Bangkok on Monday. The spokesman noted that the Thai prime minister will, therefore, have concerned officials to prepare details of the cooperation before his meeting with his Japanese counterpart during the Mekong-Japan Summit in July. The spokesman revealed that the Thai prime minister took the opportunity to thank his Japanese counterpart and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for speeding up all work relating to the Dawei Economic Zone in Myanmar. The spokesman added that Japan, through JICA and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is ready as well to invest in the project's special purpose vehicle. According to the spokesman, the Thai prime minister also expressed his support for Japan's participation in the development of a new Bangkok-Chiang Mai railway, which has been partly studied. The spokesman stated that the Japanese side informed the Thai prime minister Tokyo will send its business operators in the agricultural product sector to visit Thailand to experience Thai food, fresh and processed fruits and meat, while also proposing that both countries cooperate on rubber through the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. (TNA)