Manila: Visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and President Benigno Aquino III held bilateral talks during the Thai leader's six-hour visit on Thursday as the two leaders shared notes on free trade and other concerns.

"I believe the good prime minister will agree with me that the resilient economies of the Philippines and Thailand are the product of our shared commitment to free trade and investment," Aquino said during a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Manila.

"Our open markets have paved the way for the exchange of goods and services that have translated into billions of US dollars. Capital and investment are pouring in. Businesses are expanding beyond our borders," he added.

According to Aquino, aside from free trade the meeting centred on "bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest to both our countries."

Both leaders also agreed to further expand our functional cooperation in key areas such as education, combating drug trafficking, and disaster risk reduction and management.

 

Asean concerns

Aquino and Shinawatra also discussed concerns involving the Association of Southeast Nations (Asean), the regional bloc where the two are founding members.

Aquino underscored the country's commitment to building an Asean Community that is founded "on the bedrock principle of compassion and respect for the rights and welfare of its people."

"I also informed the Prime Minister of the Philippines' major advocacies in the Asean, which includes connectivity, maritime security, food security, migrant workers' protection, disaster management and biodiversity," Aquino said.

"I was pleased to learn about Thailand's own priorities, and to note synergy and congruence in our countries' thrusts," he added.

Shinawatra stressed the importance of maintaining a reliable and secure connectivity programe between Asean-member countries to ensure that the building of an Asean Community would be a success.

"Both our two countries reaffirm our commitment to Asean communities in 2015 and to promote connectivity in the regions. Together, we hope to create an Asean community that is people-centreed to the regional architecture and plays an important role in global affairs," Shinawatra said.

In 2009, members of the regional bloc agreed to transform the country into an open trade community similar to that of the European Union, The establishment of a borderless Asean Community by 2015 was signed during the 14th Asean Summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, in 2009. Asean is composed of 10-member countries namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.