PHUKET /Thailand/, August 18. /TASS/. Western sanctions have increased the interest of Thai businesses in Russia, President of the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce (TRCC) Vitaly Kiselev said in an interview with TASS.
"The current situation with the imposition of sanctions has affected our bilateral economic relations in two ways. On the one hand, the sanctions, especially at the initial stage, complicated our trade in terms of payments, logistics, which, after a while, have now been largely resolved. Answers have been found to all questions. If there are obstacles, they are not so serious," he said.
Kiselev pointed at "Thailand's favorable position towards Russia, which did not join the sanctions."
"Although specific companies, banks, especially those that have close relations with the West, are afraid [of cooperating with Russia], many large companies, even among our members, are ready to continue cooperation, but, fearing problems, they prefer not to make it official. <.. .> But at the same time, they have been cooperating with Russia. As for the other side of the sanctions, now, due to the informational buzz, interest in Russia has sharply increased, in particular on behalf of business. Everyone understands that while facing significant problems in the West, Russia will look for ways to fill these gaps in the East, in particular in Southeast Asia. Thailand understands that there may be new opportunities for business here," he said.
According to the president of the TRCC, there are more and more ways for Thai businesses to establish cooperation with Russia, "since Russian exporters, who are experiencing real difficulties in exporting their products to the West, are now looking for such new markets."
"The number of members of our organization has increased by 20-30% over the past six months. Every week, every month, someone applies to join our chamber," Kiselev added.
The TRCC was registered in November 2005. Prior to that, it existed for six years as the Thai-Russian Trade Association. The TRCC is holding a seminar in Phuket with the participation of business representatives from the two countries, local authorities and the public.