On 25 April 2018, Mr. Jesda Katavetin, Director-General of the Department of South Asian, Middle East and African Affairs co-chaired the 3^rd Thailand - Sudan Joint Working Group (JWG) with Mr. El - Obeid Mohammed Al - Obeid Rahma, Director-General of Arab and Asian Affairs and the head of the Sudanese side, in Khartoum, Republic of Sudan. 

            The JWG is an important bilateral mechanism between the Thai and Sudanese Foreign Ministries which provides an opportunity to both review Thai-Sudanese bilateral relations as well as discuss ways and means to further enhance cooperation in areas of mutual benefit. In the meeting, both sides commended the success of the opening of the Embassy of the Republic of Sudan in Bangkok in February, 2017, which has enabled both countries to have a closer and more dynamic bilateral relation. Both sides also commended an outcome of the 2^nd Thailand - Sudan JWG in 2015, as Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) has extending numerous training courses to the relevant Sudanese agencies, especially in the areas of Agriculture and Public Health, following a request by the Sudanese side.

            During the meeting, both sides exchanged views on as well as discussed several issues of mutual interest, including significant developments within Thailand and Sudan, and respectively within the ASEAN and African region; promotion of bilateral trade and investment cooperation; exchange of high level visits; provision of assistance to Thai students in the Sudan; consular cooperation; enhancing Thai-Sudanese partnership for development; and the exchange of votes in international organisations.

            Furthermore, the Thai side has also proposed the signing of two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Thailand and Sudan, namely the MoU on Investment Promotion and the MoU on Fisheries, to help further strengthen Thai - Sudanese bilateral relations in the future.

            The JWG proceeded with mutual understanding and produced fruitful results, with both sides agreeing to closely monitor and follow up on the meeting outcomes to ensure that substantive results are achieved.