Thailand, SKorea to level up bilateral cooperation

BANGKOK, February 22 (TNA) - Thailand and South Korea have agreed to level up bilateral cooperation on several areas, in the lead-up to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's scheduled visit to Seoul early next week. The agreement on the enhanced bilateral relations between Bangkok and Seoul was announced after South Korean Ambassador to Thailand Jeon Jae Man paid a courtesy call on Thai Interior Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan in Bangkok on Friday. The interior minister told journalists that the expanding cooperation he and the top South Korean envoy agreed during the meeting include trade and investment, covering even South Korea's planned trade and investment in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member country, and bilateral cooperation on disaster prevention based on UN guidelines. Those who accompanied the South Korean top diplomat during Friday's meeting with the Thai interior minister include representatives of JM Motors Company, a South Korean manufacturer of fire engines. Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra is scheduled to visit South Korea from February 24-25 at the invitation of President-elect Park Geun-hye to attend her presidential inauguration, during which the Thai premier will hold talks with the first South Korean female President to, among others, jointly promote women's empowerment in the region. (TNA)