Bangladesh-Thailand to hold joint commission meeting after two decades

The seventh joint trade commission meeting (JC) between Bangladesh and Thailand is set to be held after nearly two decades. The meeting is scheduled to begin in Dhaka on Wednesday evening around 6pm. The last JC was held in 1998 in Bangkok. Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai is scheduled to arrive at Dhaka leading an 18-member high profile Thai delegation to the meeting at around 2pm. Bangladesh's Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali will be leading the Bangladeshi delegation to discuss avenues to take bilateral relations to new heights through new areas of cooperation. Senior officials from several ministries and agencies of the two governments are scheduled to attend. Prior to holding the 7th JC, Bangladesh Ambassador to Thailand Saida Muna Tasneem called on the Thai Foreign Minister, and briefed the minister's upcoming visit. This will be the first ever visit by any Thai foreign minister after the country's incumbent government took office in 2014, and the first JC in nearly two decades, said a press release from the Bangladesh Embassy in Thailand. Officials from the Bangladesh Embassy and the Thai Foreign Ministry were present during the meeting. A joint agreed meeting-minutes is expected to be signed at the end of the JC The Thai FM is also scheduled to make a courtesy call on the Prime Minister during the visit and pay respects to the Father of the Nation at the Bangabandhu Museum. In 1982, Bangladesh and Thailand signed the agreement on the Establishment of the JC on cooperation to further strengthen and promote the close cooperation between the two countries, said a foreign ministry official. The JC is mandated to review the progress of cooperation in all areas of mutual interest, implementation of the agreements signed between the two countries, participation of the two countries in regional and international cooperation, and to provide recommendations for the improvement and enhancement of said cooperation, he added. Earlier in 2015, the two countries held a foreign secretary level meeting in a bid to strengthen bilateral relations. The foreign ministry official said that the ministers will discuss bilateral trade, investment, technical cooperation, human trafficking, communication, military, sports, culture, tourism and labor sectors in depth. Apart from this, the discussion will also focus on how to strengthen the regional forums BIMSTEC and ASEM.