Thailand CG visits Karachi Council on Foreign Relations

KARACHI: Thailand has finalised list of more than 100 items and handed over the same to Pakistan for FTA (Free Trade Agreement). We are now hopeful that it will be finalised very soon to enhance bilateral trade between the two friendly countries.

Pakistan imports from Thailand are more than 1.5 billion US dollars while export volume of Pakistan to us is just 1.5 million US dollars against it. We want to balance this trade and play our role as friend for the economic development of Pakistan.

This was stated by Thatree Chauvachata, the Consul General of Thailand in Karachi during his visit to the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations (KCFR) House in Clifton. On his arrival, the CG was received by Vice Chairman KCFR Khalid Mir and CEO Commodore Sadeed A. Malik. Retd. Assistant Secretary General UN Doctor Nasir, Khalid Nawaz Awan and other members of KCFR were also present.

Chauvachata told that Thailand is trying to have FTA signed with Pakistan since 2013 and had more than 10 rounds of meetings in this regard. Thailand people love to have Pakistan's sea foods. We want to make economic and people to people relations stronger. My Karachi Expo held recently by the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) was also a good opportunity to achieve this goal, he added.

“Taxila, Gilgit Biltistan (GB) and many other places including National Museum of Karachi have much attraction for Thai tourists. Many places are even more beautiful than of Switzerland's. Statues of Buddha along with other Ghandhara civilisation remains are worthy to explore. We will guide more Thai tourists to visit such places and include this in travel itinerary so they should not miss it,” the Consul General assured.

“I have also served in Calcutta (India), Bahrain, Sri Lanka and Poland but have found Pakistani people very friendly and hospitable. This is a big difference between Pakistanis and other nations,” he admired. He also expressed his sympathy with Sri Lanka's people on recent attacks.

Pakistan offered many scholarships for Thailand's students and a large number of our students are studying religious, non-religious, vocational, international relations, science and other subjects here in Pakistan. Pakistani businessman Arif Suleman is doing good efforts to foster relations between Thailand and Pakistan and he has also been awarded with the award of Friend of Thailand on his services, he concluded.

Earlier, the Consul General was briefed about the functioning and services of Karachi Council on Foreign Relations. After the meeting the CG wrote his comments in guest book and later he was presented with crest of the KCFR.