Thailand, Papua New Guinea start new era

PAPUA NEW GUINEA, March 25 (TNA) - Thailand and Papua New Guinea have opened a new era of relations in which bilateral ties and cooperation will be expanding in all areas at all levels, covering trade and investment, as Papua New Guinea has promised to welcome Thai energy investment and requested direct flight services and tourism development expertise. Visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Papua New Guinean counterpart Peter O'Neill discussed the new move during their meeting at the Papua New Guinean Parliament in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's capital, on Monday to discuss bilateral cooperation. Suranand Vejjajiva, Secretary-General to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, told journalists after the meeting that both national leaders agreed to expand cooperation on mutual development,trade and investment, as Papua New Guinea is Thailand's most important trading partner among the South Pacific islands. Suranand acknowledged that Thailand and Papua New Guinea also plan to end tax duplication and promote mutual investment. Regarding academic cooperation, Suranand said, Thailand is ready to share expertise and experiences in health services, sufficiency economy, agriculture, fishing, the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, education, sciences and tourism. After their discussions, both prime ministers witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Thai-Papua New Guinean negotiations and an agreement on academic cooperation. The Thai Premier, who is on an official trip to Papua New Guinea from March 24-25, then presented test kits for consumer protection, food safety and disease testing for the sake of Papua New Guinean people. At their joint press conference, the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister announced that his country is welcoming Thai investors, including those in energy and infrastructure development sectors and is ready to cooperate with the Thai government in all areas. According to the Thai Prime Minister, her administration will support Thai business operators to expand their investment in Papua New Guinea and to send specialists to share expertise in development, including tourism in Papua New Guinea, promising that the Thai government is considering direct flight services to Papua New Guinea. (TNA)