Turkey-Thailand diplomacy pursued with dynamism: Envoy

By Ahmet Furkan Mercan

BANGKO

Thailand-Turkey diplomacy is pursued with dynamism, a Thai Foreign Ministry official said Friday.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Sasiwat Wongsinsawat, director-general of the ministry's department of European affairs, said more should be done to develop relations in the future.

The two countries marked 60 years of diplomatic relations.

Wongsinsawat said investments in trade show multilateral developments in both economies.

“Every year, 50,000 Turkish tourists come to Thailand. This is a small number for Turkey’s population of 80 million,” he said.

Wongsinsawat added: “At the same time, we want more Thai tourists to visit Turkey.”

With the two countries in the midst of negotiations for a free-trade agreement, he said, Thailand had “high hopes” on the deal in the long term.

“We should deepen our relations for the future,” he said.

Thailand is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and will receive the rotating leadership in 2019 from Singapore. Turkey is a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN.