Thailand and Cambodia are scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing transportation regulations this September, Thailand's transport minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal said on Tuesday.

The MOU will be signed by the Thai transport ministry and its Cambodian counterpart in Beijing during the second meeting of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Joint Committee on Border Crossings which is supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The signing is carried out under a GMS agreement on border crossings reached by member countries last year.

Agreements to be signed includes an article which stipulates that a maximum of 40 licences will be issued for new operators of cross-border transport of goods and people via the Aranyaprathet-Poipet checkpoint, while operators already providing the services are exempt from the requirements.

This agreement and related subjects contained in the MOU have been reached by the two countries' agencies in relation to customs, immigration, and transport, Mr. Pongsak said.

The minister said the MOU will facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and people, and thus will boost trade, investment and tourism between the two neighbouring countries, as well as strengthening their bilateral ties.

The GMS, consisting of Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China's Yunnan province, is home to some 250 million people who share the world's 12th largest river, the Mekong.

Since 1992, the GMS countries have embarked on a programme of economic co-operation called "the GMS Programme". Supported by ADB and other donors, the programme involves the implementation of varied projects in transport, energy, telecommunications, environment, human resource development, tourism, trade, investment and agriculture.

Source:- (TNA)