Bernama:

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Tuesday described his one-day visit to Myanmar on Monday as positive for overall relations which would further strengthen the two countries’ bilateral ties and cooperation particularly in terms of trade and investment, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

During his short stay in Nay Pyi Taw, Abhisit met with his Myanmar counterpart Gen Thein Sein and discussed enhancing and consolidating the two countries’ bilateral friendship, promoting bilateral cooperation for the development of both countries’ border areas, tackling drug trafficking as well as boosting trade and investment, promoting the tourism sector, building a deep-sea port in Dawei, and the issue of Myanmar workers in Thailand.
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Regarding Myanmar’s general election on Nov 7 which will be the military-ruled country’s first election in 20 years, Abhisit said the Myanmar leader said his country was aware of international concerns but stood firm that it could handle its internal affairs without outside intervention.

Contrast that to the message Abhisit conveyed when he spoke to Bloomberg last week:

“We don’t think sanctions have worked and we don’t think sanctions will work,” Abhisit said in an Oct. 6 interview at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters. “We think that engagement, frustrating at times as it can be, offers the most realistic approach.”
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“There’s a difference in the way we see things,” Abhisit said, explaining the competing approaches to Myanmar by Asia nations and the West. “We don’t have the luxury of distance.”
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“There’s unlikely to be any major changes as far as the way elections are going to be held,” Abhisit said. “We should think more about helping Myanmar people, capacity building, because in the end any democracy needs that to have strong foundations.”

BP: Difference in messaging…. He is explaining the Thai position to the international media whereas a focus on the trade benefits from the trip to a domestic audience.

On that trade and investment, the Bangkok Post:

Thailand and Burma have agreed to jointly develop a deep-sea port at Dawei on Burma’s Andaman Sea coast as a new economic zone, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says.

How big a deal is this? Reuters:

Thailand’s top construction contractor, Italian-Thai Development Pcl (ITD.BK: Quote), said on Thursday it expected sign a contract for a deep-sea port project with Myanmar Port Authority by the end of November.

The Dawei port project, with an estimated value of about 400 billion baht ($13 billion), will include a railway, roads, industrial estates, a refinery and a steel mill, senior executive Nijaporn Charanachitta told reporters.

“We should sign the contract with Myanmar Port Authority later this month or next,” Nijaporn said, adding the election in the country on Nov. 7 should not affect the signing and should be positive for the project.

Analysts say the project in the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar, first mooted a decade ago, could secure a firm source of revenue for Italian-Thai for at least 10 years.

BP: That is a lot of money to be investing in Burma, but given ITD are a very well-connected company. With increaing financial connections, does this bode well for Thailand being able to positively influence the situation in Burma?

btw, also “Is Abhisit under pressure to support Burma election?” and “Is Thai PM’s Burma visit a fruitful one?”