Vietnam and Thailand will boost cooperation in developing the exhibition industry and help their businesses to study regional market.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Hanoi on June 30 between the Vietnam Trade Promotion Department (VietTrade) and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

Addressing the signing ceremony, VietTrade Deputy Head Ta Hoang Linh expressed his hope that the MoU would help the two countries to be closer in economic integration in the Southeast Asian region through the exhibition industry.

Meanwhile, TCEB Director Supawan Teerarat said that as Thailand and Vietnam shared many similarities, promoting trade ties would bring in many benefits to both sides.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, since Vietnam promulgated the Law on Foreign Investment in 1998, Thailand has had 227 valid projects in Vietnam with a combined registered capital of over 5.8 billion USD.

Economic cooperation between the two countries has been promoted, with bilateral trade turnover reached 6.1 billion USD in 2009 and is expected to hit 10 billion USD by the end of this year, reported the Thai Ministry of Trade./.