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Australia–Thailand relations are foreign relations between Thailand and Australia. Thailand is represented through its embassy in Canberra and a consulate general in Sydney. Australia has an embassy in Bangkok. Formal diplomatic relations were established between the two nations in 1952.
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During the 2006 Thai coup d'état, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said "it's of grave concern to us that the government has been overthrown in this way." [1]
In 2003, the two countries announced they would enter into a free trade agreement. [2] The Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) entered into force on 1 January 2005. TAFTA has facilitated increased two-way trade and investment, improved business mobility, increased transparency, encouraged international best practice, and promoted bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including customs procedures, government procurement, competition policy and intellectual property protection. [3]
Trade is significant between the two nations. In 2010, two-way trade in goods and services was worth more than A$19 billion.
The Agreement resulted in Thai tariffs on virtually all goods imported from Australia being eliminated by 1 January 2010. [4]
Thailand is an important market for Australian aluminium and copper, and Australia is a significant supplier of coal to Thailand. [4]:
Thailand is a significant tourist market for Australians with 400,000 Australians visiting Thailand each year. The Australia-Thailand aviation market is Australia’s 6th largest. [4] A number of airlines provide direct flights between Australia and Thailand including: Qantas, V Australia, Jetstar, British Airways, Thai Airways and Air Australia.
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