Next JTC meeting set to be hosted by SAfrica

BANGKOK, December 3 (TNA) - Authorities have agreed that the next Thailand-South Africa Joint Trade Committee (JTC), the 5th of its kind, will be hosted by the South African side. Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Chutima Bunyapraphasara told journalists that the agreement was reached during her recent meeting with new South African Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Geoffrey Quinton Mitchell Doidge. Chutima said during the meeting, aimed mainly to strengthen economic ties and cooperation between South Africa and Thailand as the Thai Kingdom has been the top trading partner of the African Continent so far, the new South African top envoy introduced himself for taking the top post in Bangkok and expressed his hope that the 5th Thailand-South Africa JTC Meeting should also be a platform where both countries discuss measures to further promote and enhance bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and tourism. According to the deputy minister, the agreed South African-Thai cooperation will be emphasized on areas of mutual interest and potential, namely agricultural and processed agricultural businesses, as well as the Halal, the gems and jewelry, the tourism and the national defense sectors. Besides, a business matching session for South African and Thai private business operators will be held as part of the 5th Thailand-South African JTC Meeting, with the scheduled date of the meeting to be later announced. The deputy minister revealed that she took the opportunity to ask the South African government to also facilitate and support Thai migrant workers in South Africa through the issuance of their work permits, especially those who work as chefs and traditional Thai massagers, and through the extension of the visa for Thai operators of restaurants, as well as the Thai spa and the tourism businesses. The deputy minister stated that bilateral trade between South Africa and Thailand has exceeded 3 billion US dollars over the past six years and South Africa is considered having potential to become Thailand's gateway of trade and distribution center of goods to such other land-locked African nations as Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, as well as member countries of the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) between the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC), where there are over 600 million consumers. (TNA)