Thai-Myanmar council push
Thai businesses are ramping up ties with their Myanmar counterparts in five main areas — agriculture, border trade, energy, industrial development and tourism — to tap into vast investment opportunities in the neighbouring country. Panitarn Pavarolavidya, chairman of Thai-Myanmar Business Council, said the council’s first meeting held in Yangon on Feb 3 focused on the proposed five sectors and set up a joint panel to look at potential obstacles and how to overcome them. For instance, Mr Panitarn said the Thai businesses have proposed that Myanmar establish a central organisation to oversee agricultural prices, which fluctuate widely. He said more port and rail development is needed in Myanmar to facilitate logistics and boost exports and imports. Part of this process involves amending logistics laws and setting up one-stop services to facilitate border trade.
