Taipei, Dec. 16 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian on Tuesday met with a Thailand delegation of media and communication specialists and expressed the hope that ministerial-level trade consultations between Taiwan and Thailand can be held regularly.
The president said that he was gratified to learn that a ministerial consultation meeting between Taiwan and Thailand was resumed last year after a hiatus of more than a decade. He also said that he hopes that the meeting could be held like the ones between Taiwan and other Southeast Asian country ministers which is held regularly every year.
The president also said that although Thailand signed an avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion agreement with Taiwan in 1999, the agreements have yet to be put into practice, which is a source of concern for many Taiwan businessmen, the president said.
In addition, the president said that Taiwan hopes to sign a temporary admission agreement and fugitive exchange pact with Thailand.
The president cited figures to show how close exchanges between the two countries have been, noting that between 1986 and 2002, Taiwan invested up to US$10.6 billion in Thailand, becoming the third-largest foreign investor in Thailand.
The president also said that bilateral trade between Taiwan and Thailand amounted to US$4.46 billion in 2002, with Thailand enjoying a trade surplus of US$55 million.
He said that Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu visited Thailand late last year to take part in trade consultations with the industry minister in Thailand, which marked a resumption of meetings that were last held in 1991.
The president expressed the hope that the meeting will be held regularly just as the ones between Taiwan and such Southeast Asian nations as Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.
The president also told his visitors that he was happy to have the Taiwan government take part in a project over the past three decades to help people in northern Thailand plant vegetables, fruits, tea and aid with forestation to replace the original planting of opium poppies and other narcotic plants.
The president also expressed his appreciation for the contribution to Taiwan by Thai workers, noting that they currently stand at more than 110,000, or around 38 percent of all foreign laborers in the country and they have remitted around US$900 million every year back to Thailand. Taiwan appreciates all Thai laborers, whose number has reached 660,000, who have worked in Taiwan, he added.
Taiwan people also made 720,000 visits to Thailand last year, spending US$1 billion there, the president said.