The participants in the meeting called the preferential trade and joint investment a short-cut for reaching a sustainable trade between the two countries.

In the meeting Head of International of Iran Chamber of Commerce Mohammad Reza Karbasi expressed his dissatisfaction over the level of trade ties between Iran and Thailand and said that the rise in the awareness and familiarity of economic activists about the capacities of the two states for developing trade cooperation is necessary.

He then pointed to the considerable progress of Thailand in the field of agriculture and said Thailand has turned into the sixth rice producing and the second exporting country of this product in the world and the country is well known in production and export of textile and apparel, agro products, types of drinking, tobacco, concrete, electric equipment, cars, auto parts and agro machineries.

Karbasi said that capability of Thailand in the field of food production, export of dried fruit and other products is the ground for boosting the trade ties between Tehran and Bangkok, adding that both countries can help their trade ties to increase through joint investment, exchange of technical knowledge and special devices for producing dried fruit. He also said both countries can also barter trade in the field of agricultural products, fishery and halal food industries.

He noted that Thailand’s foreign trade in the first three quarters of 2021 has been over $413.3b and its exports stood at $216b and in return the imports were around $197.3b.

Karbasi also said that the trade volume of Iran and Thailand in the first three quarters of 2021 was around $198m as Iran’s exports to this country stood at $101m and Thailand exported $97m of goods to Iran. He noted on the whole Iran’s share of Thailand’s foreign trade is less than one percent.

He also called Iran and Thailand a bridge for the link of economic activists of the two states in East Asia, West Asia, Caucasus and Europe and emphasized that Thai companies by finding proper Iranian counterparts can enter other countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and other states in the Persian Gulf, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Karbasi also said that the good cooperation between chambers of commerce of the two countries is also necessary for improving the cooperation between the two countries and invited officials of Thailand’s chamber of commerce to pay a visit to Tehran after the end of the current pandemic restrictions in order to get familiar with Iran’s capacities.

He also emphasized reinforcing and resumption of the banking cooperation between the two countries for expansion of economic cooperation and noted that without banking relation those trade affairs will not materialize.

Karbasi also called for finalizing the agreement between Iran and Thailand in the fields of agriculture, standardization, preferential trade, incentives and reciprocal support from investment, and announced readiness of Iran Chamber of Commerce for improving the current level of trade with using the capacities of the private sectors of the two states.

Meanwhile deputy head of Thailand Chamber of Commerce, for his part, pointed to the historic relation between the two countries and called Iran as Thailand’s important trade partner in the field of agriculture and emphasized that Iran can turn into a center for export of Thai agro products to other countries in the region and turn into a hub in this field.

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Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Abbas Salehi sat down with the Thai ambassador to Tehran where the two sides called for the enhancement of mutual cooperation.

“Iran and Thailand have, since long ago, enjoyed good and extensive relations, and I hope these relations will further grow,” said the Iranian minister.

“Both countries are of significance in terms of tourism potential, historical and civilizational heritage, and their status in the region,” said the minister.

“Iran and Thailand have age-old relations,” he added.

He said he is going to have a virtual meeting with the Thai culture minister next week where the two sides will hopefully discuss ways of dealing with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the culture sector.

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According To Iran News, Thai police arrested a local man who fired multiple gunshots near Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok early morning Friday. However, no casualties were reported.

Thai police arrested the 44-year-old man, a sports shop owner, who fired at least 40 shots in multiple directions since the wee hours on Friday in Chula Soi 10 at Pathumwan district in Bangkok.

The incident sparked panic among the public and residents in the neighborhood with many two-storey shops – most of it selling sporting equipment and gear – as it came just less than a week after a rogue soldier killed 29 and injured 58 in a shooting rampage in Nakhon Ratchasima last weekend.

Metropolitan Police Bureau Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Pakkapong Pongpetra said the suspect surrendered and was taken to the police station for further investigation.

 “No casualties reported,” he told reporters at the scene today.

It is believed that the man was under stress, which prompted him to take his handgun and opened fire.

Meanwhile, a taxi driver said he and a group of taxi drivers heard gunshots from a rooftop of the two-storey shops at around 3am (local time) today.

 “We saw him (aiming to) open fire at us … Everyone started running for our life,” he said, Bernama news agency reported.

Last Saturday, Thai soldier Sergeant Major Jakrapanth Thomma, 32, was shot dead by security forces after a shooting rampage at four locations in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima, about 250km from Bangkok, and killed 29 people including police and army officers and wounded 58 others.

The soldier killed his commanding officer and the officer’s mother-in-law over a property dispute, and stole weapons and ammunition before fleeing on a military jeep.

He shot his way through a Buddhist temple before going to the Terminal 21 shopping mall where he holed up for more than 12 hours.

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