Pakistan–Thailand relations

Pakistan-Thailand relations

Pakistan	Thailand

Pakistan and Thailand formally began diplomatic relationships on 10 October 1951. Pakistan maintains embassy in Bangkok, whereas Thailand maintains an embassy in Islamabad and a Consulate General in Karachi.

Trade links

Bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Thailand in 2008 was around US$750 million. With seafood and textile accounting for Pakistani export to Thailand, and motorcars and chemical products accounting for Thai export to Pakistan.

The investment boards of the two countries have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sharing investment intelligence, encouraging prospective investors and technical assistance. And a Thai-Pakistan chamber of commerce has also been established to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries.

In August 2013, the Thai Prime Minister visited Pakistan in the first visit in a decade.

People Traffic

See also: Pakistanis in Thailand

In 2008, a total of 63,258 Pakistanis visited Thailand for tourism and 2,618 Thais visited Pakistan for tourism. Pakistan is a popular Buddhist religious pilgrims destination, as it is home to several ancient Buddhist heritage. There are around 120 Pakistani students at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, and several hundred Thai Muslim students in religious studies at Pakistani universities.

Defense cooperation

Both countries have also shown interest in defense cooperation, and conducted high level meetings.