BANGKOK - Thailand and South Korea have agreed to more than double their annual trade to US$30 billion over the next five years, the kingdom's prime minister said. After meeting South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Thai leader Yingluck Shinawatra said the pair had vowed to strengthen economic bonds. Thailand will boost exports of rice, fruit and frozen chicken, Yingluck said, adding South Korea had expressed support for the multibillion-dollar Dawei deep- sea-port project being led by a Thai company in Myanmar. AFP
TOKYO - Japan pledged to launch projects worth US$700 million in Central Asia to help the resource-rich region promote trade and energy-saving. The commitment followed a meeting in Tokyo between foreign ministers from Japan and five Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The projects will cover five areas - trade investment, environment and energy-saving, narrowing the wealth gap, helping stabilise Afghanistan and co-operating in disaster prevention.