ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Thailand, as a major South Asian tourist destination, is keen to broaden cooperation in the field with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, its ambassador to Jordan and Non-Resident Ambassador to Iraq told Rudaw on Monday.
Ambassador Supark Prongthura visited Erbil on Monday, where he attended a business forum and seminar, a key pathway to increasing opportunities for cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and Thailand.
"We are thinking of bringing and encouraging, help[ing] marketing to bring tourists from our region to Iraq, as well as the Kurdistan Region," Prongthura said.
The ambassador added that they were "also working on several projects with airlines. We are encouraging Iraqi Airways and Fly Baghdad to open a direct flight between Baghdad and Bangkok, so that would actually strengthen and increase the number of tourists between our two countries."
Speaking of access to obtain a Thai visa, he explained that the process has become much easier. “Iraqis still need a visa, but approval time is a lot shorter than before, maybe it takes... ten days or two weeks," Prongthura said.
He added that they have launched electronic visa applications since January, and through the new system, they have granted visas to 15,000 Iraqis so far. “That speaks a lot about our tourism,” the ambassador asserted.
Upon his arrival in Erbil, Prongthura was received by Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Region's Department of Foreign Relations.
"We exchanged views on strengthening bilateral ties, attending a business forum and seminar at Cihan University, and unlocking opportunities for closer cooperation in the future," Dizayee wrote on X.
