China and Thailand agreed to speed up cooperation on the joint railway project, in an effort to ensure an early start within the year. The railway project is a “priority and highlight” of China-Thailand cooperation. China hopes the two countries can ensure an early start for the project, said Chinese Premier Li Keqiang during a meeting with visiting Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai in Beijing, Xinhua reports.
At the end of 2014, the two countries signed a MoU to jointly develop a medium-speed railway connecting northeast Thailand’s Nong Khai province, the capital of Bangkok and eastern Rayong province. The railway will also be a section of the planned railway running through southern China, Laos and Thailand.
“The railway will promote the two countries’ economic development and facilitate trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between China, Thailand and the Indo-China Peninsula,” Li noted.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that construction will be a breakthrough for the trans-Asian railway network brewed for years. The railway will be conducive to Thailand’s long-term development and help it make full use of its location as a regional inter-connection hub.
According to Wang, the two sides have agreed to advance the railway project, striving for an early start within the year.
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