On 13 June 2018, Mrs. Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Andrejs Pildegovičs, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, who was accompanied by Mr. Kaspars Ozoliņš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Latvia, during their working visit to Thailand between 12 – 13 June 2018.

 

Both sides discussed bilateral issues including Latvia’s intention to appoint the Ambassador of Latvia to China to also be accredited to Thailand with residence in Beijing and Thailand’s proposal to appoint Mr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum as the Ambassador of Thailand to Latvia with residence in Stockholm. 

 

In addition, the Thai side is also in the process of appointing an Honorary Consul of Thailand to Latvia. On economic cooperation, Latvia proposed that Thailand consider Latvia as a gateway to Europe where goods can be transported through air, sea and land directly or indirectly via Mumbai or Iran and Azerbaijan. This would help to save time and costs, especially transportation via railways linked to China that can provide faster transportation than by sea.

 

The two sides also exchanged views on current issues in Europe and Asia including Brexit, the role of China in the region, and increased cooperation in trade, investment and tourism between Latvia and Asian countries such as China, the Republic of Korea, Japan and India.

 

On this occasion, the Permanent Secretaries of the two countries signed 

the Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Republic of Latvia on Exemption of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic, Service and Official Passports to facilitate the exchange of visits by diplomats and government officials between both countries. Thailand also announced that a Visa Exemption for Tourism Purpose for a 30-Day Period will be granted to Latvian tourists to promote tourism and strengthen people-to-people relations. Necessary processes for the exemption to enter into force are being undertaken. 

 

One of the main purposes of this visit is to showcase Latvia’s transport and logistics potential to Asian countries with an aim to be a transportation hub in the Baltics and a distribution center between Asia and Europe.