TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo Japanese fir...

TOKYO, Aug. 27 Kyodo

Japanese firms and semigovernmental clusters have signed accords with Thai dominion agencies to strengthen bilateral cooperation upon promoting tourism and developing small businesses, Thai proxy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Tuesday.

The accord upon small enterprises was signed with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Japan Small and Medium Enterprise Corp. and Japan Finance Corp. for Small Business participating forward the Japanese side, Somkid told a pres colloquy in Tokyo.

According to a JETRO official, the Thai agencies taking part in the accord are Small Industry Finance Corp. and the Office of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Promotion.

The tourism pact was reached between eight major Japanese travel agencies and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Somkid said.

A Japanese restraint official said the accord is aimed at increasing the number of Japanese tourists to Thailand, including senior citizens visiting the Southeast Asian fatherland for long stays.

Somkid arrived in Japan onward Monday for a three-day visit to call in succession Japanese businesses to invest more in his country

He said he look fors several Japanese automobile and fodder makers, including Toyota Motor Corp., will pretty soon move to expand investment in Thailand. The automaker said it has no specific plans concerning its operations there.

The delegate prime minister said countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have ''a potential for product that is as big as that of China.''

Investment in Thailand is especially meaningful as the home is ''an important nave of the region,'' he said.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

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