On 5-6 March 2018, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, paid a visit to the European Commission and had bilateral meetings with H.E. Ms. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development and H.E. Mr. Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries at the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. The meetings were aimed to strengthen the relations between Thailand and the European Union (EU), after the adoption of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) Conclusions on Thailand on 11 December 2017, to enhance cooperation in the areas of fisheries and sustainable development and to exchange views on the situation in the region.

During the meeting with H.E. Ms. Federica Mogherini on 5 March 2018, both sides discussed the development of Thai – EU relations and highlighted on the importance of the latest FAC Conclusions on Thailand, which has promoted the political re-engagement at all levels between Thailand and the EU. The EU High Representative reaffirmed the importance of Thailand as the EU’s important partner, while the Thai Foreign Minister took the opportunity to explain the EU side of the political developments in Thailand including the agenda for the general election. He also stressed on Thailand’s continuing efforts on combatting the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Apart from this, the two constructively exchanged views on the situation in the region in which the Thai Minister brought to attention that Thailand would host the ACMECS Summit this year and stressed that the humanitarian assistance was the priority for the situationin in Rakhine.

On the same day, the Thai Foreign Minister met with H.E. Mr. Neven Mimica. Both sides welcomed that ASEAN and the EU agreed to have a roadmap for the cooperation on sustainable development. The initiative of establishing the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue was mentioned as a channel for further trilateral cooperation. The Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated Thai’s commitment in fostering global partnership for development through Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and encouraged for collaboration between Thailand and the EU to provide development cooperation in various areas to other countries. In this regards, the EU side recognized Thailand's role as a regional development partner and as Country Coordinator for ASEAN – EU Dialogue Relations.

On 6 March 2018, the Thai Foreign Minister met with H.E. Mr. Karmenu Vella. The discussion was constructive. The EU side acknowledged Thailand's progress and its commitment to combat IUU fishing as well as its determination to achieve a comprehensive reform of its fisheries sector. Such commitment would benefit the current situation and will follow up on the success of Thailand’s anti-IUU fishing measures. In addition, both sides also discussed their readiness to help strengthen fishery cooperation within ASEAN.