Mr Dung spoke highly of the two-day working visit by Arsa Sarasin, who is also a former Foreign Minister and his entourage, which he said, reflected the Thai businesses' special interest in Vietnam.

In the future, Mr Dung noted, the two sides should continue tapping their strengths in different fields, especially strengthening cooperation between Thailand's localities and Vietnam's central region along Highway 9 at the East-West Corridor.

PM Dung hailed initiatives to promote bilateral trade, investment and tourism ties and added that he is willing to facilitate business activities and investment by Thai companies in Vietnam.

Two-way trade value reached US$4 billion in 2006, a year-on-year rise of 30 percent. At present, Thailand has 145 valid investment projects in Vietnam with a combined registered capital of US$1.6 billion, thus ranking 12th among 77 countries and territories and third among the Association of Southeast Asia Nations investing in Vietnam.

After the reception, Pati Sarasin, representative of Thailand's Nok Air, handed 600,000 THB (approximately US$17,000) to PM Dung to assist the Vietnamese Government's charitable work.

Earlier, Arsa Sarasin and his entourage were welcomed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Hanoi.

VNA