On 30 July 2019, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, welcomed and had a bilateral meeting with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, on his official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand as guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand prior to his participation in the ASEAN-Russia Ministerial Meeting on 31 July 2019. 

            Both Ministers noted with satisfaction the overall relations and cooperation between Thailand and Russia which have significantly become more dynamic over the past four years, especially the high level meetings and exchanges of official visits. The most recent one was the official visit of H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs to the Russian Federation between 7-8 February 2019.

           On bilateral issues, both sides agreed to follow up on implementation of the 7^th Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between Thailand and Russia in December 2018 and showing their appreciation on the development of cooperation made during the past 6 months such as the 10th Meeting on Military Logistics, the purchasing of two Kamov multi-purpose helicopters from Russia,  and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and the Office on Corruption Prevention of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation (OCPA). The Ministers also encouraged agencies concerned to, within this year, organize the pending joint-committee, sub-committee, and joint working group meetings in the fields of economy and trade, finance and banking, tourism, energy, environmental protection. They agreed that Thailand and Russia should expand cooperation in other potential areas, including science and technology, security, and education. Both sides also welcomed the upcoming joint events to be held in Thailand, namely, the 2^nd Thai-Russian Business Forum on 15 August 2019 and the Forum on Digital Cooperation during 19-21 September 2019.

         In this occasion, Minister Don proposed that Russia purchase more food and agricultural products from Thailand and jointly addressed the non-tarriff barriers between the two countries, particularly the mutual inspection and certification of the pending livestock and fishery processing plants. Minister Don also reaffirmed Thailand invitation for Russia to invest in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and S-Curve industries in the areas of Russian expertise, for example, aerospace, digital and smart city. The Thai side also requested Russia’s support for starting negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the earliest opportunity.

            Both sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest such as the ASEAN-Russia cooperation, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region, and the Thai-Russian cooperation within the United Nations framework.  In this regard, Thailand invited Russia to participate in the ASEAN Smart Cities Network Conference and Exhibition and the ASEM Seminar on Enhancing Human Capital for Sustainable Digital Connectivity which will be held in Thailand in August 2019 and October 2019 respectively.