On 16th September 2015, H.E. Mr. Saber Hossain Chowdhury, President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

Mr. Chowdhury attended a briefing session conducted by H.E. Dr. Wissanu Krea-Ngam, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He expressed that the briefing helped generate better understanding on political development in Thailand as well as the work of the National Legislative Assembly (NLA). He reiterated that IPU stands ready to cooperate with Thailand in future endeavours, including the 133rd IPU Assembly which will take place in October this year. In addition, he stated that IPU strives to play an important role in issues of global concerns such as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, Goal 16 regarding institution and governance. Parliaments will certainly have a role in implementing SDGs.

In this occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs thanked President of IPU for visiting Thailand and expressing his understanding on political development at present. He also reaffirmed that the Government, NLA, all relevant agencies, and Thai people are committed to reforming the country in order to provide a strong basis for Thailand to move forward. He also stated that Thailand certainly welcomed comments from IPU concerning the reform process.

IPU is the international organization of Parliaments established in 1889. There are currently 166 members, and Thailand became a member of IPU in 1950. IPU works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy, as well as for the maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security, respect for human rights, and sustainable development.