Trade Between Burma And Thailand Benefits From Border Bridge Opening And Cross-Border Transport Facilitation Agreements

The Burma Times reported that the second Thai Burmese friendship bridges linking the Myawady in eastern Burma and the Mae Sot in Western Thailand were opened to traffic in October (2019), and the Cross Border Transport Facilitation Agreement was opened to traffic. CBTA also came into effect last year, allowing freight vehicles from both countries to transit and stay for 30 days. The border trade between Burma and Thailand will be expected to increase substantially.

The Thai Burmese Friendship Bridge spent about 4 billion baht (about 140 million US dollars), and began construction in August 2015, across the MoeiRiver, linking the Mae Sot of Thailand and the Myawaddy of Burma. The bridge is about 760 meters long. It is the second bridge linking messo and miwaddy. It is about 5 kilometers away from the first Thai Burmese friendship bridge. After its opening, it is expected to relieve the crowd of MSO. This bridge is not only the key to the development of the East West Economic Corridor by the government of Thailand, but also part of the "East West Economic Corridor" in the Greater Mekong sub region.

The "East West Economic Corridor" originated in Da Nang, Vietnam, and finally reached Burma's capital Yangon, and then through the bay of Bengal to the India market, up to 1700 km, which will connect four countries in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Burma to build a large-scale economy. The smooth opening of the east west economic corridor will reshape the supply chain of the Mekong region and bring it into the vast India market, which may reduce the region's economic dependence on China.

Burma and Thailand signed the memorandum of understanding on cross-border transport cooperation between the two countries in the twenty-third Ministerial Conference of the Greater Mekong Subregion Economic Cooperation (GMS) held in Phnom Penh in November 2019. It is part of the framework for the cross border transport agreement for the convenience of goods and personnel (CBTA) in the greater Mekong subregion. The content of cooperation memorandum is applicable to the Tak of the northern province of Thailand (Mae). Sot) the cross border trade between Burma and Myawaddy. The two sides cooperate to facilitate the process and supervision of cargo entry and exit procedures.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of Burma, Thailand is the second largest trading partner and third largest investor in Burma. 2018-19 in the financial year, the total trade volume reached 5 billion 400 million US dollars (7 trillion and 700 billion Burma), and Burma's exports to Thailand reached US $3 billion 200 million, while the import volume reached US $2 billion 100 million. In the 3 trading ports on the border between Burma and Thailand, the most important part is the Miao waddy Di eyebrow, which accounts for 70% of the border trade between the two sides. In the last 4 months of fiscal year 2019-20, the trade volume increased by $330 million to the $330 million of the last year. Burma's exports to Thailand are mainly agricultural and animal husbandry products. The import from Thailand is mainly non-alcoholic beverages, fabrics and yarns, motorcycles and related parts and building materials.