Parliamentary leaders of Vietnam and Thailand discussed measures to boost bilateral ties and strengthen ASEAN unity in talks held in Hanoi Tuesday.

Chidchod, who is also the Speaker of the House of Representatives, proposed a joint project to build a cultural center in Thailand’s Nakhon Phanom province, where Vietnam’s first President Ho Chi Minh lived as an overseas revolutionary.

The project would make younger generations of Thai and Vietnamese expatriates in Thailand more aware of the long-standing relations between the two countries, he said.

His host warmly welcomed the initiative and promised to come up with concrete measures with relevant agencies to deploy the project soon.

The two sides also talked of encouraging the Vietnamese community in Thailand to learn their mother tongue and visit and invest in their homeland.

Trong said Vietnam would create favorable conditions for Thai businesses to boost investment and trade in Vietnam in an effort to more than double bilateral trade revenues to US$10 billion by 2010.

Trong also sought support from Thailand, a member of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), to help Vietnam carry out its AIPA presidency next year.

For his part, the Thai legislative chief expressed strong belief in Vietnam’s future, saying the country would become “a power in the next 10 years.”

Later on the same day, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received Chai Chidchob in Hanoi, saying Vietnam wishes to boost comprehensive and extensive cooperation with Thailand in all sectors.

In particular, Vietnam and Thailand should work more closely in rice production and processing; and cooperate with other Mekong region countries in protecting common water resources in order to ensure the livelihoods of both upstream and downstream residents on the Mekong River, he said.

Source: VNA