Thailand to allow vaccinated Bangladeshi tourists

Thailand will allow vaccinated travellers from Bangladesh without quarantine in designated tourism areas starting on November 1 under a programme called ‘Sandbox Scheme’.

On spending a week in those designated areas, travellers will be allowed to move to any area of the country, reports bdnews24.com.

Makawadee Sumitmor, the newly appointed Thai ambassador in Dhaka, informed State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar about the decision in a meeting on Monday, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The embassy is expected to issue a notice detailing the new arrangement.

Shahriar welcomed the new ambassador and hoped that during her tenure in Dhaka, Bangladesh-Thailand relations would reach a newer height through meaningful and pragmatic cooperation and collaboration in different areas of interest.

The state minister said that Bangladesh and Thailand have been enjoying an “excellent, friendly and cordial” relationship since independence, and suggested that the countries celebrate the golden jubilee of the bilateral diplomatic relations in 2022.

Shahriar noted that Thailand is important to Bangladesh for a wide range of issues, such as trade, science-technology, medical services, tourism, foreign investment and connectivity.

He suggested that more people-to-people contacts and the removal of barriers in trade and investment could expand the relations further.

Highlighting the growing purchasing capacity of the people of Bangladesh, particularly of the bulging middle-class, as well as the investment-friendly policies of the government, Shahriar invited more Thai investors to invest in Bangladesh and avail the opportunities offered by a market of more than 160 million people.

Stressing particularly on Thai cooperation for enhancing capacity-building in the areas of agro-processing and health sector to expand bilateral trade, Shahriar and Sumitmor hoped that the countries would make efforts to conclude a free trade agreement in the near future. The commerce ministry is currently carrying out a feasibility study o a possible FTA with Thailand.

Shahriar thanked Thailand for the humanitarian support extended to the Rohingyas and sought more political support from the country on the repatriation of the refugees to their homeland Myanmar.

He also sought support for Bangladesh’s candidature as ASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partner.