The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Government Public Relations Department of Thailand (PRD) have agreed to continue exchanging information, photos and video clips and implementing projects in relevant fields.

The agreement was reached at the eighth PRD-VNA Joint Technical Committee (JTC) Meeting in Bangkok on August 18. The meeting was held during a August 17-21 working visit to PRD by VNA Deputy Director General Nguyen Hoai Duong.

“The exchange of news and information is very crucial, as it has contributed to better understanding between Thailand and Vietnam , in addition to enhancing friendship and knowledge between our people,” said PRD Deputy Director General Teerapong Sodasri.

He spoke highly of the working visit by the VNA officials and the increasingly boosted cooperation between VNA and PRD since they signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Information and News Exchange on Aug. 24, 2003.

At this JTC meeting, VNA and PRD officials reviewed what they have done in line with the MoU content and discussed measures to step up bilateral cooperation in the future, especially in the exchange of information, photo and video clips.

VNA Deputy Director General Duong emphasised that VNA and PRD have implemented many programmes and projects on news and information exchange effectively, along with exchanging working visits of high-ranking officials and journalists.

These activities and the outcomes of JIC meetings have greatly helped boost cooperation and promote mutual understanding and friendship between the Vietnamese and Thai people at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 35 th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties, the VNA official said.

Later the same day, the VNA Deputy Director General and his entourage made a fact-finding tour of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT), which is managed by PRD. Earlier, he paid a courtesy visit to executives of MCOT, a Thai media conglomerate.

At these meetings, the VNA, NBT and MCOT executives discussed possibilities for the exchange of information, photos and television products to help the two countries’ people have access to official news information in each country and enhance the two countries’ mutual understanding./.