Thai PM to visit South Korea, Hong Kong Feb 24-26

BANGKOK, February 22 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will visit South Korea and Hong Kong next week, scheduled for February 24-26, during which she will boost bilateral relations and cooperation on trade and investment between Thailand and the two Asian economies. On February 24, Yingluck will meet outgoing South Korea President Lee Myung-bak and on February 25, she will attend the swearing-in of newly-elected South Korean President Park Geun-hye, the first female leader of the country, and then have a bilateral discussion. The Thai prime minister will later visit Hong Kong from February 25-26, during which she will meet Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Hong Kong business operators to invite them to invest in Thailand's new infrastructure development projects, totally worth 2.2 trillion baht, and to also persuade Hong Kong tourists to visit Thailand. The Yingluck government has enhanced relations with the South Korean government since her visit to Seoul last year, when she met then President Lee Myung-bak and discussed a goal to increase the value of mutual trade and investment to over 30 billion US dollars over the next five years. During the upcoming trip, both the female Thai and South Korean top leaders are likely to discuss concrete movements to achieve the goal. (TNA)