Thai PM Shinawatra to conclude visit to Vietnam
Thai Prime Minister (PM) Paetongtarn Shinawatra will conclude her state visit to Vietnam today.
This two-day-visit, is the first by a Thai PM to Vietnam in 11 years, signifying a shift in Thai diplomatic and economic outreach to the Southeast Asian nation. Shinawatra’s government has aimed to elevate relations to ‘Strategic Comprehensive Partnership’, the highest level of Thai diplomatic engagement.
The PM’s trip included visits with Thai business leaders in Vietnam, offering their insights on how Vietnam has attracted foreign investment and diversified trade amid Trump’s tariffs. Vietnam is rapidly becoming an economic competitor as its young population achieved a GDP growth of 6.8% in 2024, whilst Thailand’s economy is struggling to keep up.
This visit demonstrated how Vietnam is fast becoming Thailand’s primary regional competitor for manufacturing and tourism. Shinawatra’s trip will impact how Thai-Vietnamese relations progress this decade and there is a reason for that. The PM’s visit, the first in over a decade, is to demonstrate the acknowledgement of Vietnam’s growing middle power status. Commercially, the visit was a chance for the PM to bring back ideas of economic reform for Thailand’s manufacturing sector, to ease regulations on foreign businesses, in the hope it spurs more foreign investment. Regionally, stronger relations between both nations will allow for a stronger bloc to stand up to great power influence within ASEAN.