H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and H.E. Mr.Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, held productive talks on the 13^th of October 2016, during Minister Szijjártó’s visit to Thailand to attend the ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok.

          The two sides have reached an agreement on establishing an MoU on Education and Scientific Exchange Programme for the Year 2017-2018, pending the internal procedures of Thailand, to be signed at the earliest opportunity. Under the MoU, the Government of Hungary will provide scholarships for 40 Thai students and academics per year to encourage mobility in the area of higher education between the two countries and to contribute to the pool of highly qualified experts in Thailand.

          The two Ministers agreed to further enhance and deepen the cooperation in areas of common interest with special emphasis on the steadily growing trade and economic relations. Both sides considered the forthcoming 3^rd session of the Thailand - Hungary Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation (JCEC), to be hosted in Bangkok next year as a pivotal event to chart out the perspectives and identify the drivers for bilateral economic relations. Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to encourage people-to-people exchanges and enhance cultural cooperation.

          Hungary welcomed the efforts of the Thai Government in its capacity as country coordinator for ASEAN - EU dialogue relations to make practical progress towards elevating the ASEAN – EU partnership to a strategic level.