Japanese PM to officially visit Thailand

BANGKOK, January 11 (TNA) - Newly-elected Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to pay a two-day official visit to Thailand from January 17-18 as the guest of the Thai government. Accompanied by his wife, Abe will be the first Japanese prime minister who pays an official visit to Thailand in 11 years, after the visit of former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2002. During his two-way trip to Thailand, Abe and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra will discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, covering regional cooperation, and exchange opinions on Thai-Japanese strategic partnerships based on the 125-year-long diplomatic relations of the two allied countries, which have attached great importance to democracy and mutual interest. The Japanese and Thai premiers will also discuss ways to promote the sustainable prosperity, peace and development of the region through cooperative frameworks between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, as well as between the Greater Mekong Sub-region and Japan and other regional cooperative frameworks, as Japan and the 10-member ASEAN bloc celebrate the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations this year. Japan, Thailand and other countries in the region have emphasized on regional connectivity, as part of their cooperation, and the establishment of the ASEAN Community (AC). Thailand and Japan alone are benefiting from the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA), witnessed by the value of bilateral trade amounting to 2.11 trillion baht during January-November 2012. Japan has now become Thailand's most important trading partner; while Thailand has been Japan's 6th most important trading partner. Japan has also been the largest investing country in Thailand with its investment projects having amounted to 312 billion baht and accounted for 63 per cent of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Thai economy so far. Besides, Japan has been Thailand's third largest tourist market, after Malaysia and China. From January to November 2012, 1,24 million Japanese tourists visited Thailand; while 211,076 Thai people visited Japan last year, a 62.4 per cent increase from 2011. There are now also 40,957 Thai people living in Japan and 47,251 Japanese people living in Thailand. (TNA)