• 
• 
• 

The Thailand International Freight Forwarders Association and the Laos Freight Forwarders Association on Wednesday agreed to study the establishment of an inland container depot in Vientiane to make trade logistics more efficient.

Both sides are focusing not only on bilateral trade but also trilateral trade, particularly with China and Vietnam.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai and her Lao counterpart Nam Viyaketh jointly presided over the opening ceremony of the Laos-Thai Trade Exhibition.

The fair is held annually to promote products, particularly from small and medium-sized enterprises. This year it is being held in Vientiane until Sunday.

At Wednesday's meeting, the ministers also acknowledged plans to strengthen trade and management cooperation of the two countries as part of Asean's effort to transform itself into an Asean Economic Community by 2015.

Trade between Thailand and Laos averages Bt80 billion (US$2.28 billion) a year, but jumped 34.01 per cent to $2.38 billion last year, with exports accounting for $1.77 billion and imports $612.7 million.

According to a plan put in place in 2006, the two neighbours agreed to triple exports from Laos to Thailand by 2010. Porntiva said the two cooperation plans were focused on expanding border trade.

They include trade facilitation by reducing all barriers and production costs and the meeting of top-level officials for trade and industry from the two countries.

Under the trade facilitation plan, Thailand will help Laos set up a single-stop inspection window to smooth imports by reducing complicated procedures.

Nam said Thailand had mainly invested in energy, agriculture and mining in Laos. However, both sides still have to consider revising customs procedures to facilitate trade and investment.

"Laos' parliament is amending investment regulation and privileges for investors, which will also benefit all," Nam said.

Laos, Vietnam and Thailand are studying the transportation route for the East-West Corridor under Asean cooperation. These three countries should focus on benefit sharing through cross-border trade, he said.

Laos will definitely follow the Asean Free Trade Agreement timetable to bring down trade tariffs to 0-5 per cent, while Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines will cut tariffs to zero next year, he said.

"Tariffs are not a barrier to strengthening trade in the region. We should instead focus on trade facilitation, particularly transportation from country to country. A good transport network will not only encourage trade but also foreign investment," he added.

Thanit Sorat, vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said logistics cooperation between the two countries would consider connections of both rail and roads.

The inland container depot will be located at Tha Na Rang, opposite Nong Khai in Thailand. Other routes linking Thailand and Laos are Mukdahan-Savannakhet, Nakhon Panom-Kham Mouan and Chiang Khong-Bor Kaew.