Bangladesh considers the visit a major development towards establishing direct shipping connectivity with an Asean country, which will increase Bangladesh’s bilateral trade with Thailand and lower cargo-transport costs.

The delegation comprises Suriyan Kanjanasilp, governor of Ranong province, the vice governor, top officials of the port authority and Thai customs and business leaders, Saida Muna Tasneem, Bangladesh’s ambassador in Thailand, said on Sunday.

The team is to hold meetings in Dhaka and Chittagong to explore the feasibility of the coastal shipping deal, she said.

Tasneem, who was in Dhaka to facilitate the meetings, has been playing a vital role in exploring the potential of coastal shipping with Thailand.

Thailand has 17 seaports, including eight deep-sea ports.

Last June, Dhaka and New Delhi signed their first ever coastal-shipping agreement during a visit by Indian |Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Bangladeshi |capital.

Bangladesh has also initiated talks with neighbouring Myanmar to sign similar kind of deal.

Tasneem said direct shipping links between Chittagong port and Ranong could cut bilateral shipping costs by at least a third and save shipment time compared with the cost of the present route via Singapore.

During the visit, the Thai delegation was to hold an official meeting with the Shipping Ministry today, with A|shoke Madhab Roy, acting shipping secretary, leading the Bangladeshi delegation.

The Thai team will also hold a meeting with the Bangladesh-Thai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is expected to meet with Shajahan |Khan, shipping minister, and other |high officials of different ministries.

They will also visit Chittagong and meet with the Chittagong Port Authority, and witness how the port is operating and handling cargo.

The issue of coastal shipping links between Bangladesh and Thailand was first discussed last June during the first foreign-office consultations between the two countries.

Bangladesh and Thailand have annual bilateral trade worth US$780 million (more than Bt27 billion). In |2013-14, the value of Bangladesh’s imports from Thailand was $741 million against exports worth $39 million.