On 13 December 2018, Mr. Damrong Kraikruan, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Thailand, and Mr. Raphael Naegeli, Assistant State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, co-chaired the 4th Meeting of Political Consultation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, in Bangkok. The meeting was also attended by the Swiss Ambassador to Thailand, Director-General of the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and representatives from Thailand International Cooperation Agency, and the Swiss Embassy in Bangkok. 

 

Both sides expressed their strong determination to further enhance the existing political, economic and people-to-people relations between the two countries. The Thai side highlighted the special bond between Thailand and the Swiss Confederation, since Their Majesties the late King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej, resided in Lausanne during their youth. Both sides exchanged views on developments in their respective regions, and agreed that the technical negotiations on Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) should resume at the earliest opportunity and that cooperation in the fields of science, technology, innovation, and education/ vocational education should be enhanced at the bilateral and trilateral levels. 

 

Thailand as Chair of ASEAN in 2019 also invited the Swiss Confederation, as Sectoral Dialogue Partner of ASEAN to collaborate in areas of Swiss expertise, such as vocational training and sustainable development as well as to become an ACMECS development partner, in which the Swiss Confederation expressed interest since these areas are complementary to the country’s active role in providing development assistance to the region.