OREANDA-NEWS. Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Georgy Petrov has held a meeting with representatives of major business associations and organizations of Thailand. The meeting, which took place at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was attended by top-ranking representatives of the Federation of Industry of Thailand, the Trade Council of Thailand, the Joint Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and representatives of Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Industry.

Georgy Petrov underscored the high level of bilateral business ties Russia and Thailand have achieved over the past few years and pointed out a dramatic increase in the number of contacts between Russian and Thai entrepreneurs in 2013, which creates a favorable environment for a further development of bilateral ties.

The participants exchanged opinions on prospects for the development of the two countries' economies. The Thai representatives praised Russia's increasing importance on the international scene and its positive stance regarding the development of business ties in South East Asia. They also focused on the future of the Customs Union, BRICS and ASEAN, on Thailand's participation in pursuing business projects in the Far East and Siberia, and on the effectiveness of free trade agreements.

The two sides spoke about the high potential for bilateral business cooperation and expressed readiness for establishing new contacts between the two countries' business associations in order to work out specific solutions to improve the business climate and mutual investment attractiveness.

A joint session of the Russian-Thai and Thai-Russian Business Councils was attended by Thailand's Ambassador to Russia Itti Ditbanjong, deputy director of the Department for External Relations and Business Councils Tatiana Legchilina, chairman of the Thai-Russian Business Council Kriengkray Tienukul, chairman of the Russian-Thai Business Council Andrey Bykov.

While addressing the participants in the meeting, Itti Ditbanjong said that the influx of tourists from Russia exceeds the stream of tourists from all over Europe. As bilateral trade increases, the number of joint cultural projects reached a record high in 2012. Business talks between Russian and Thai business representatives have been progressing with food and energy cooperation being the most promising area of bilateral ties. According to Itti Ditbanjong, other areas of mutually advantageous cooperation comprise housing construction, medicine, and sale of spare parts and jewelry. The two countries, he said, are to double bilateral trade to USD 10 bln by 2016.

Thailand stands high on the Russian Chamber of Commerce's international agenda, Tatiana Legchilina said. One of the reasons for it is that Russia and Thailand have been maintaining friendly ties since the late 19th century. The two countries have also been maintaining a high-level political dialogue. Thailand, a region of strategic importance in South East Asia, is a major priority of the Russian foreign policy. Thailand is Russia's major trade partner. Bilateral trade increased by 7 percent in the fist six months of 2013. Even so, the potential of bilateral cooperation is far from being exhausted. In addition to the above mentioned industries, IT and biotechnology could become areas of mutual interest as well. Bilateral events, such as the recent Thailand Week in Russia, could well serve as fresh impetus for bilateral trade.

Kriengkrai Tienukul is sure that business councils are key for business circles to promote mutually beneficial cooperation. These councils could also serve as a venue for swapping opinions and elaborating a joint action plan for promoting trade and investment. More than 30 representatives of various ministries, companies and business associations of Thailand participated in the joint session of the Russian-Thai and Thai-Russian Business Councils, Kriengkrai Tienukul said.

According to Andrey Bykov, about 1.5 of 22 million tourists who visited Thailand in 2012 came from Russia. In comparison, a mere 200,000 Russians visited Thailand in 2005. Russian business circles have been demonstrating undivided interest in the Kingdom of Thailand as well. Thai businessmen are not demonstrating such interest in developing ties with Russia, Bykov said. In all likelihood, this is because Russia doesn't provide enough information on business options in Russia. Thai restaurants, medical centers, or drugstores could do fairly well in Russia, he said. Russia and Thailand could effectively cooperate on power engineering and infrastructure construction. Russian companies, Bykov said, are prepared to supply Thailand with fertilizers, steel, and high-tech products. Andrey Bykov says one of the mechanisms of boosting mutual trade is the creation of a Russian-Thai trading house with the support of the governments of the two countries.

The participants in the session agreed to sign a joint plan of action and a cooperation agreement between the two business councils. A short introduction program was followed by an exchange of business contacts and discussions in the B2B format.