BANGKOK, February 9. /TASS/. Trade turnover between Russia and Thailand in 2023 decreased by 17% year-on-year to about $1.5 billion, Russian Ambassador to the Kingdom Yevgeny Tomikhin told Russian reporters.

"The total trade volume decreased by about 17% compared to 2022 and amounted to about $1.5 billion. But nevertheless, growth in volumes of mutual trade remains on our agenda and the targets set in pre-Covid times remain. This year a series of practical events has been outlined. We have an intergovernmental commission on cooperation, which includes several working groups in various industries. Some meetings are planned at the level of industries. Therefore, I hope all this will help improve the situation, in particular in trade," he said.

"In general, the mood is positive, despite the fact that all over the world the Americans and Westerners are putting strong pressure on all other countries in order to create difficulties in our bilateral cooperation. But the business community everywhere is seasoned, it finds some options for establishing connections faster than government departments," he noted.

Tomikhin pointed at the problems both Thai and Russian entrepreneurs are facing now.

"These are [issues] of logistics, although they are probably being resolved now, and banking transactions, where some solutions are also now being found, alternative systems are being created. <...> I hope that the groundwork created this year and in previous years will have an effect in the coming year. I do want to hope that this year trade turnover will still grow," the Russian diplomat stressed.

"The main point here is a positive attitude on both sides and a willingness to interact. A political dialogue is underway. This year there will be contacts through the ministries of foreign affairs, and inter-parliamentary contacts will develop through other structures, including the security forces. Military ties showed steady growth last year. I mean bilateral exchanges. This year, a number of events have been agreed upon through the Defense Ministry. <...> We hope that we will be able to complete work on an intergovernmental agreement on the mutual recognition of educational documents. This document will create more favorable conditions for university graduates. It is important that higher education diplomas are recognized in both countries," the diplomat added.