The King made the statement while receiving newly-accredited Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Hai Bang, who came to present his credentials.

Bang said he was honored to take the post and vowed to do his best to boost friendly and cooperative ties between the governments, businesses and people of Vietnam and Thailand.

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Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Photo: AFP/VNA

King Vajiralongkorn took the occasion to send his best wishes to Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong and recalled his good impression of Vietnam from past visits to the country.

Vietnam and Thailand established diplomatic relations in 1976.

Thailand is now the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in ASEAN, with two-way trade increasing to USD 15.3 billion in 2017 from USD 11.5 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, Vietnam is the second biggest trade partner of Thailand in ASEAN, following Malaysia.

In the first half of 2018, bilateral trade reached nearly USD 8 billion, an annual rise of 14.7 percent. Vietnam exported more than USD 2.7 billion worth of goods to Thailand during the period, up 22.7 percent year on year.

Source: VNA