H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, along with Mrs. Pornpimol Kanchanalak, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid an official visit to France on 20-24 February 2022 to attend the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, hosted by France as it holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) during January - June 2022.

The meeting was convened at the Ministerial Conference Center in Paris and attended by Ministers of Foreign Affairs or high level representatives of 56 countries in total, consisting of the EU member countries and countries in the Indo-Pacific region, namely Asia, ASEAN, Australia, countries along the coast of Indian Ocean (Africa and South Asia) and countries of the South Pacific Ocean.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the thematic roundtable on global issues (climate change, the protection of oceans, biodiversity, global health), during which he presented Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model as an alternative strategy for a sustainable and inclusive growth. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated that BCG will keep balance between the promotion of economic growth and the protection of nature and environment to safeguard both the ecosystem and human security.

Additionally, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs declared that Thailand as host of APEC 2022 under the theme “Open. Connect. Balance.” is ready to work with 21 economies of Asia-Pacific region to promote a more resilient, inclusive and green growth with the whole-of-BCG as a compass.

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France signed the Roadmap for Thai-French Relations (2022-2024) to enhance bilateral relations with a view to establishing  strategic partnership by 2024, which will promote Thailand’s interests in political, economic and social aspects. Furthermore, both sides held a bilateral meeting during which the Thai side expressed appreciation for France’s donation of 400,140 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to Thailand, which is expected to be delivered to Thailand in March 2022. Thailand also sought France’s support for the negotiations for Thailand-EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and the resumption of the negotiations for Thailand-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Both sides also exchanged views on situation in the regions such as situation in Myanmar and the tension between Russia and Ukraine.

The official visit of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs to France on this occasion has been a success especially in the strengthening of bilateral ties between Thailand and France and pushing forward Thailand’s role in the forum for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. France is the first country in the European Union that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs paid an official visit to after the COVID-19 pandemic has improved world-wide. The last time Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs visited France was in 2018 when he accompanied the Prime Minister for an official visit.