MILAN, ITALY, 10 October 2014 (NNT) – Thailand’s Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha met with Mr. Shinso Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister before the start of the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan, Italy. The two leaders congratulated each other on the good relationships that have existed between the two countries for 127 years.
Gen Prayut on this occasion thanked Japan for its understanding towards political developments in Thailand and assured that Thailand was moving towards a full democracy and national reforms. He stressed that Japanese cooperation in such efforts was needed and could be extended via the existing ASEAN framework. He also urged greater Japanese trade and investment in infrastructure development and water management in the region.
Mr. Abe, meanwhile, applauded the Thai counterpart for his leadership and attempts to bring Thailand to democracy, reform and reconciliation, all of which are challenging tasks and hoped Gen. Prayut would be successful in the tasks. However, he noted that Thailand should also pay attention to the voice of the international community. In addition, Mr. Abe called on Thailand to ease import regulations for Japanese products from such areas as Fukuoka, and invited the Thai leader to visit Japan once available.
Gen Prayut said he would take heed of advice from other leaders and would consider cutting down obstacles to bilateral trade. He also invited greater Japanese research and investment in Thailand in the fields of raw material processing, coal powered plants and satellite system.
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