PM:Thailand is prepared for AEC

BANGKOK, July 26 (TNA) – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra attended a workshop in Bangkok on Thursday to prepare Thailand for the ASEAN Community (AC) by 2015. During the workshop, Yingluck said she hopes that Thai land will be ready be part of the Single Community of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to be a gateway to ASEAN and to be more competitive in all areas within the next three years. Yingluck said the session would prepare Thailand for the AC in economic, political and socio-cultural aspects, announcing that the government will later discuss the preparation with the local private sector and will then work out a national master plan for Thailand’s inclusion into the AC. The workshop involved representatives of all ministries, which separately presented their preparations for the AEC, as well as the pros and cons of their participation in the integrated community. Meanwhile, business operators in Thailand's Lower Northeast signed a partnership agreement with their visiting Lao counterparts to promote bilateral trade at the local level. The Thai business persons are from Ubon Ratchathani, Amnat Charoen, Si Sa Ket and Yasothon provinces. Their agreement is expected to boost the trade of local products, namely farm produce and construction materials, and to promote local franchise businesses, logistic services, medical services and tourism. The cross-border partnership is expected to help both Bangkok and Vientiane prepare for the AC and raise the value of Thai-Lao trade by at least 10 per cent within 2015. (TNA)