On 17 July 2017, Mr. Panyarak Poolthup, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr. Lin Shaochun, Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, co – chaired the 5^th Thailand – Guangdong Working Group Meeting in Bangkok, where approximately 70 representatives from both sides participated.

               Both sides emphasized each other’s role in supporting their respective national development strategies and noted how their strategies complemented each other, and agreed to continue to work according to the draft Joint Action Plan on Thailand – China Strategic Cooperation (2017 – 2021), the Protocol on the Extension of the Five – Year Development Plan on Trade and Economic Cooperation, and the Formation of the Joint Action Plan to further build a cooperative relationship beneficial to both Thailand and China.

               Both sides interactively exchanged views on areas of cooperation including (1) economy, trade, and investment; (2) agriculture; (3) education and technical cooperation; (4) culture; (5) tourism; (6) public health; (7) connectivity and logistics; (8) science, information, communication, digital technology and innovation; (9) energy; and (10) exchange of visits and people-to-people contact.

             Amidst a cordial atmosphere, the meeting adopted the Record of Discussion as a key deliverable, together with a Work Report stocktaking both sides’ cooperation in 2015 – 2017 as well as a Work Plan charting the future work for 2017 – 2019 as annexed documents. Furthermore, Thailand welcomed Guangdong’s offer to host the 6^th Meeting of Thailand – Guangdong Working Group in 2019 on a mutually convenient date.

             The Thailand – Guangdong Working Group was established in 2009 as a mechanism to promote cooperation between the two sides. The first meeting took place in Bangkok in 2010 and the Working Group has been hosted alternately by Thailand and Guangdong ever since.

               After the meeting, H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, hosted a luncheon for the delegation, where both sides had the opportunity to further exchange substantial views on Thailand – Guangdong cooperation.