Myanmar, Thailand to further cooperate in trade promotion

YANGON (Xinhua) - Myanmar and Thailand will further cooperate in trade promotion and developing MICE - meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, Myanmar's biggest business organization, UMFCCI, revealed on Thursday.

Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in Yangon between the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), TCEB's mission is to support the connections and linkages through meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions and to improve MICE industry in many ways which include encouraging public and private sector delegations and missions to deepen engagement and expand collaboration in preparation for the AEC integration in 2015.

"Myanmar is becoming a major economic hub of Southeast Asia, with an average of 6.8 percent of annual economic growth that is projected to increase to 8.9 percent in the next year," said Pisanu Suvanajata, Thai Ambassador to Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Thailand is a key trade partner of Myanmar, accounting for $7.821 billion 2013, show statistics of the Thai Ministry of Commerce.

Thailand's investment in Myanmar amounted to $10.114 billion in 74 projects as of June 2014, accounting for 21.65 percent of the total foreign input and being the 2nd in Myanmar's foreign investment line-up since Myanmar opened its door in late 1988.