Thailand eyes OBOR for Eurasian market
Thailand hopes that China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative would boost trade and investments as well as increase the number of tourists visiting Thailand from Eurasian countries, including Kazakhstan which is hosting the Astana Expo 2017. Nat Pinyowattanacheep, Thailand’s ambassador to Kazakhstan, said that although the trade value between Thailand and Kazakhstan is currently not much due to transport issues as the cargo must be shipped via Moscow, Thailand hoped the OBOR’s key AH1 route would shorten transportation time. AH1 would link China, Vietnam and Thailand and thus boost trade between Thailand and the Eurasian countries. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), comprising more than 180 million people, includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Moldova, the latter becoming the first Observer member of the Union on April 14 this year.
