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Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva departed Bangkok Friday for a one-day visit to Vietnam to discuss the rice trade, tourism, transport links and protection of the Mekong River withVietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, officials said.

The talks in Hanoi are also to focus on coping with the global economic crisis.

In addition to talks with Dung, Abhisit, who is making his first visit to Vietnam since becoming prime minister in December, was scheduled to meet with President Nguyen Minh Triet and other high-ranking Vietnamese officials, Thai Foreign Ministry sources said in Bangkok.

Topics for discussion include collaboration in the rice trade. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of the grain while Vietnam is ranked second.//DPA