National—
On March 18th, 2024, Ms. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, led the party’s executive committee to visit Cambodia for political discussions to develop cooperation between the two countries.
Paetongtarn stated that as the leader of the Pheu Thai Party, the ruling party, she was committed to working with the Cambodian People’s Party and its prominent members, the former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the current Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who has succeeded his father Hun Sen, to enhance Thai-Cambodian relations.
The two parties had a prior relationship since former Prime Minister Thaksin’s government which was important in cooperative development between the two countries.
Paetongtarn discussed various mechanisms to promote exchanges and facilitate communication between the two countries, particularly in economics, trade, investment, culture, and tourism. Thailand and Cambodia had cultural and historical ties that could be utilized to attract tourism in the region jointly.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin previously attended the ASEAN Summit and initiated the ASEAN Drive Tourism project, aimed at promoting joint tourism under the concept of “6 Countries One Destination” between Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. We have discussed this proposal at length here last month.
It was expected that implementation would begin soon to support the ASEAN Drive Tourism project, remarked Paetongtarn.
Paetongtarn also discussed strategies to support the government in negotiating with airlines to increase the number of flights between Cambodia and Thailand and reduce airfares, which would be crucial in attracting and facilitating foreign tourists from both countries.
