Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai.(Photo: Nikkei Asian)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand welcomedthe decision of the European Union (EU) to resume political contacts at alllevels with the Southeast Asian country.
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told thepress on December 12 that the most important thing is that the EU has relaxedits stance towards Thailand, describing this as a political development move.
With this decision, all official politicalcontact and exchange visits between leaders and officials of European countriesand Thailand will be normally carried out, he said.
The relaxation will also have a goodpsychological effect on investors, he added.
He noted that the talks between Thailand and theEU on economic cooperation, including a free trade agreement, could proceed atthe right time.
Earlier on December 11, the EU agreed to resumepolitical ties at all levels with Thailand after three years of suspendingrelations in protest at the military coup in Bangkok.
The EU is the third biggest trade partner ofThailand, after China and Japan, while Thailand is the third largest tradepartner of the EU in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
According to the European Commission (EC),Thailand exported 19.6 billion EUR (equivalent to 23.11 billion USD) worth ofgoods to the EU in 2015, whilst the EU exported 13.4 billion EUR (about 15.8billion USD) to Thailand.-VNA
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