General news - Thursday December 13, 2007
TOURISM / THAI-CAMBODIA AGREEMENT
Single-visa plan for visitors to both countries
ACHARA ASHAYAGACHAT
Thailand will sign an agreement with Cambodia under which foreign tourists will be able to visit both countries on just a single visa.
Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram will sign the single-visa framework accord with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong in Phnom Penh on Monday.
Mr Nitya will also make a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen.
The agreement was worked out under the framework of the Ayeyawaddy-Mekong-Chao Phraya Economic Cooperation (Acmecs) accord, which also includes Burma, Laos and Vietnam.
Thailand and Cambodia will be the first two Acmecs member countries to strike such an agreement, which would boost tourism.
The deal allows foreign visitors to obtain a visa to visit either Thailand or Cambodia and then travel in both countries without having to get another visa, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said yesterday.
However, the deal would take effect only after agencies such as the interior ministries of the two countries had issued the appropriate regulations. He could not say when this would happen.
Mr Tharit said he did not know when Cambodia and Thailand would implement visa-free access for their own nationals.
Thai citizens still have to apply for a visa before travelling to Burma and Cambodia, although the two nations are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which has agreed visa applications are not needed within member states.
Bangkok Post
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