A meeting within the first session of the Vietnam–Thailand Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation took place in Bangkok, Thailand on Monday, focusing on bilateral cooperation issues, including, trade, politics, security, defense, diplomacy, culture and education.

The session is conducted in the context that the two countries see increasingly growing bilateral relations, especially since Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s recent visit to Thailand, during which the two countries’ ties were enhanced to a strategic partnership.

Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will co-chair the JCBC’s session today, November 5, during which the two sides are expected to approve an action program to implement their strategic partnership. Bilateral trade relations between Vietnam and Thailand have been expanded in the past few years, with two-way trade reaching US$5.4 billion in the first nine months of 2013, up 14.2 percent compared with the same period last year.

Regarding investment, Thailand now ranks ninth among countries and territories directly investing in Vietnam, with 315 projects worth US$6.38 billion. Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors are developing nine projects, totaling over US$12 million, in Thailand.