Friday, June 12, 2009

Thailand, Laos and Vietnam agree on cross-border transport

Vietnam and Thailand on June 11 introduced a formal exchange of traffic rights and a regional customs transit system between the two countries and Laos.

Accordingly, commercial trucks from Vietnam and Thailand will be able to enter each other’s territory to deliver or collect goods, which will reduce overland transport time dramatically and boost trade and economic development.

Overland shipments between Vietnam and Thailand along the East West Economic Corridor, which runs from Danang in Vietnam through to Savannakhet in Laos and then into Thailand, can now proceed directly to their final destination. Those shipments previously needed to be unloaded and re-loaded in Laotian territory.

The Asian Development Bank issued a press release in Manila, the Philippines, on June 11, saying that 1,200 commercial vehicles - 400 from each country - have initially been given permits to enter each other’s countries.

“You can now set out from Thailand, do business in Laos and arrive in time for dinner in Danang - all in the space of a single day,” says Arjun Thapan, Director General of ADB’s Southeast Asian Department.

VNA-VOV

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