Pheu Thai Party, Secretary-General of the Japanese LDP Party met with "Paethongtarn", emphasizing "Thailand" as a partner and an important production base for Japan, confirming that he will urgently support Thailand's joining the OECD. Mr. Motegi Toshimitsu, Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Member of the Japanese House of Representatives and former Japanese Foreign Minister, and his delegation met with Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, Leader of the Pheu Thai Party, along with Ms. Nalinee Taveesin, Thai Trade Representative, Mr. Surapong Suebwonglee, Vice Chairman and Secretary of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, Mr. Surawong Thienthong, Secretary-General of the Pheu Thai Party, Mr. Dusit Manaphan, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Sarasnan Annopprapon, MP for Khon Kaen Province, Mr. Phonlacha Chakkraphet, Secretary to the Minister of the Prime Minister's Office, and Ms. Chayika Wongnapachant, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of their official visit to the Southeast Asian (ASEAN) region and Thailand. Ms. Paetongtarn said that Thailand and Japan have had close economic relations for a long time. Japan is the number 1 foreign investor in Thailand and is an important trading partner of Thailand. The Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) is an important cooperation framework that supports trade. She also invited Japanese investors to invest in Thailand more. Ms. Paethongtarn also raised the issue of measures to support foreign investment by the government of Prime Minister Settha Thavisin, saying that the government has continuously issued various measures, especially the IGNITE Thailand vision, which aims to promote the development of Thailand to become a world-class industrial city center, along with the Soft Power policy that supports vocational training for Thai people, creating jobs and careers through the creative economy, in which the Japanese private sector has expertise in many fields. She also sees Mr. Motegi as an important figure in the LDP, so she asks for support and to increase opportunities for trade and investment between the two countries, as well as to exchange knowledge and culture between people to people more, since the Japanese government already has a policy to support Digital Transformation and Green Transformation (GX) to lead to the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC). Therefore, it is an opportunity to cooperate and support the transformation of industries in Thailand to modern industries. 'Please be assured that Japan and Thailand have been long-standing partners of trust, and this importance will never decrease. Especially in the current global economic slowdown, Thailand and Japan need to join hands, cooperate, and help each other even more. Recently, the government of Prime Minister Settha has increased opportunities and facilitated travel to Thailand for tourism and business negotiations continuously. Since July 15, the government has extended the visa exemption period for Japanese nationals who enter Thailand from 30 days to no more than 60 days. Therefore, we hope that this will help attract more Japanese people to travel to Thailand for business and tourism activities,' said Ms. Paethongtarn. While Mr. Motegi confirmed that Japan sees Thailand as an important production base, especially in the automotive industry, which is number one in the ASEAN region. In addition, Thailand has more than 70,000 Japanese citizens living in Thailand and more than 6,000 companies in Thailand. Therefore, Thailand is very important to Japan. He also confirmed that Japan still wants to cooperate with Thailand to push for energy security and the automotive industry to be a long-term partner. He also promised to help discuss the process of applying for membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for Thailand to proceed quickly. Mr. Motegi also revealed that he was delighted to visit Thailand again, as he had previously visited Thailand officially when he was Minister of Foreign Affa irs 20 years ago. On that day, he met former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, so he was very pleased to meet the daughter of former Prime Minister Thaksin today. He also expressed his condolences to Mr. Settha for the loss of his biological mother. In addition, both sides discussed the aging society that Japan and Thailand are facing together, and both governments are encouraging their citizens to have more children. On this occasion, Ms. Paethongtarn presented a 'gift box' that the Pheu Thai Party had prepared on the auspicious occasion of His Majesty the King's 6th Cycle Birthday Anniversary on July 28, 2024, and hoped that the future of the nation would grow with quality and be an important force in developing Thailand to Mr. Motegi as a souvenir. Mr. Motegi also praised this policy of the Pheu Thai Party. Source: Thai News Agency
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