Thailand and Bangladesh have agreed to promote tourism through historical Buddhist sites prevalent in both countries, as well as boosting ties in trade and investment.

The issue was raised for discussion at the third Bilateral Consultations between Thailand and Bangladesh. Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan visited Bangladesh on 13-14 March 2023 to attend the meeting in Dhaka.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the meeting, both sides emphasized the cordial relations between the two countries, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022; the relations were built primarily upon people-to-people interactions. Social and cultural exchanges were also discussed, especially in tourism and medical tourism, with Thailand being a popular destination for Bangladeshis.

Currently, trade between both countries is at 1.2 billion USD and has great potential to expand even further. The establishment of a Free Trade Agreement would be instrumental in promoting closer ties in trade and investment. 

Furthermore, both sides discussed cooperation on defense and combatting transnational crimes, as well as connectivity in all modes of transportation, including air, marine, and land, which will play a crucial role in strengthening bilateral cooperation.

Bangladesh expressed interest in Thailand sharing knowledge on agro-processing and development cooperation to third countries. On multilateral issues, both sides discussed how to strengthen cooperation through BIMSTEC, as Thailand will chair the BIMSTEC Summit at the end of 2023. The Thai side hopes that the Prime Minister of Bangladesh will be able to attend the BIMSTEC Summit. 

The Permanent Secretary also paid a courtesy call on Mr. Salman Fazlur Rahman, Industry and Investment Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. They discussed various aspects of bilateral relations, especially ways and means to promote trade and investment between Thailand and Bangladesh.

Executives from 10 Thai companies also accompanied the Thai delegation to visit Bangladesh in order to explore trade and investment and discuss business opportunities with potential Bangladeshi partners. On this occasion, they also learned about Bangladesh’s investment policies and incentives from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority and Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority.