Turkey invites Thai PM to make official visit amid move to resume FTA talks
Turkey’s ambassador to Thailand has invited Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin to make an official visit to Ankara as the two governments have agreed to resume talks on a free trade agreement.
Nalinee Taveesin, the Thai trade representative, met Turkey’s ambassador to Thailand, Serap Ersoy, on Tuesday, after which she told reporters that the ambassador would like Srettha to make an official visit to the country.
The ambassador noted that Thai government leaders had not made official visits to Turkey for over 20 years, Nalinee added.
Apart from agreeing to resume free-trade area talks, the ambassador also thanked the Thai Royal Family, the Thai government, NGOs and citizens for sending help to the people of Turkey following an earthquake in February, Nalinee said.
Nalinee said Thailand and Turkey had agreed in principle to establish a bilateral free trade area and the ambassador agreed with her that the two countries should resume FTA talks and made progress towards a pact.
She said the two countries had held seven rounds of FTA talks, but it was disrupted in 2021 because of domestic issues.
Nalinee said she had informed the Turkish ambassador that Thailand was ready to resume the talks once Turkey finishes its review of the government’s policies.
Nalinee said Ersoy replied that Turkey’s framework for holding FTA talks with Thailand should be ready by early next year.
Nalinee quoted the Turkish ambassador as noting that the two countries had enjoyed a long relationship and this year marked the 65th year of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Nalinee noted that Turkey is a market with high purchasing potential as the country has a large economy and its economy is ranked 19th largest in the world.
She said Thailand could use Turkey as a trade bridge to reach eastern European nations and nations on the Balkan Peninsula as well as countries in the northern Africa.
She said Thai products that could benefit from an FTA with Turkey included vehicles, refrigerators, plastic pellets, textiles, seeds, Halal foods, fruits, electrical appliances and auto parts.
Nalinee said Turkey could use Thailand as a gateway to the East Asian, Asean and other nations having an FTA with Asean and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
She said Turkey was also interested in making investments in the Eastern Economic Corridor so that Thailand could be its production base for exporting to other Asean nations.
Thai companies that have been investing in Turkey include CPF, Indorama and Dusit Thani while Turkish firms with investments in Thailand include KOC Holding, HidroMex, and Sabanci Holding.
The two countries have several direct weekly flights by both Turkish Airlines and Thai International Airlines.
