Many Thai officials and businesses speak Vietnamese fluently.

Thai officials and businesses said they do not want to lose to countries like Japan and South Korea in investing and doing business in Vietnam.

On the afternoon of July 8, the Thailand-Vietnam Business Council held a press conference in Hanoi as part of the visit of Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Here, Thai officials and businesses can communicate in English and even speak fluent Vietnamese.

Thai Foreign Minister hopes that business cooperation between the two countries will grow further.

Minister Don Pramudwinai said Thailand and Vietnam are two close neighbors. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1976, bilateral trade has increased to 13 billion USD and the plan for 2020 is 20 billion USD.

The Minister affirmed that Thai businesses are constantly expanding their investment in Vietnam because they believe in its potential, labor, and really enjoy living in Vietnam.

Chairman of the Thai-Vietnamese Business Council, Sanan Angubolkul, said that in the five years from 2010 to 2015, trade turnover grew by 40%. He also explained that Thai goods have flooded the Vietnamese market in recent years thanks to their quality and low prices.

"We do not want to be inferior to our distant friends. With geographical advantages, Thai enterprises will proactively come to Vietnam to expand production and business, sharing benefits. We want to apply techniques with Vietnamese enterprises to improve labor productivity, creating quality products at lower prices," said Mr. Sanan, adding that he has proposed to the Thai Government to consider the Vietnamese market. The Government will guide and attract Thai enterprises to invest in areas that Vietnam wants or is lacking such as infrastructure, transportation, beauty, aesthetics, etc. Currently, Thailand has many corporations operating effectively in Vietnam such as SCG (plastics, cement, petrochemicals), CP (livestock), Bangkok Bank and the strongest is the retail industry.

This person admitted: "Thailand is a little more developed than Vietnam because it is ahead in time. With the achievements we have made, we are committed to supporting knowledge and technology to develop together."

Thai goods are increasingly flooding the Vietnamese market.

Mr. Sanan affirmed that not only Vietnam but also the countries in the Mekong sub-region favor Thai products because of their good quality and low prices. In recent years, Thailand has implemented a strategy of exporting goods and investing directly in Vietnam to reduce costs, thereby making goods cheaper. In 2015, Thailand's total investment reached over 8 billion USD, ranking 11th among countries in Vietnam. In 2016, Thailand aims to increase its investment to 10th place.

The Chairman of the Thai-Vietnamese Business Council said that the investment environment in Vietnam today is not much different from that in Thailand 20 years ago. At that time, Thailand opened its doors to foreign businesses, first from Japan and then many other countries. The Thai government at that time only thought about the benefits of creating jobs and moving the country out of agriculture.

"Without FDI, Thailand would remain an agricultural country. Foreign companies investing here have changed production practices, applied technology, and turned Thai farmers into disciplined, industrial-style producers," said Mr. Sanan.

From an industrialized country, Thailand has accelerated its economic shift to the service sector. Looking at the Vietnamese economy, Mr. Sanan commented: "A series of FTAs, TPP... are the 'hidden charm' that attracts foreign capital to Vietnam. Vietnamese people are very hard-working and have highly skilled workers."

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) with a population of 600 million and a total GDP exceeding 3,000 billion USD is an opportunity to expand business cooperation between the two sides towards a common market. Accordingly, Vietnamese goods will be widely consumed in the region.

In fact, although Vietnam-Thailand trade has increased sharply in recent years, Vietnam has always been a country with a trade deficit. Vietnamese goods are not widely available in Thailand, only a few such as wooden furniture and coffee have managed to penetrate. Currently, there are about 1,000 overseas Vietnamese living in Thailand. Mr. Sanan said that Vietnamese businesses need to drastically reduce production costs, lower prices and expand exports to Laos, Cambodia and some other Southeast Asian countries.

Vice President of the Thai Business Association - Tussin Mahamongkol, who has lived and worked in Vietnam for more than 20 years, affirmed that "Vietnamese people are smarter than Thai people". However, Thai people have experience, so if they cooperate, it will create great economic value, contributing to raising the two countries' turnover to 20 billion USD and affirming their position in the region.

According to VNE