Summary of Weekly Press Briefing by

Mr. Thanawat Sirikul, Deputy Director-General of Department of Information

and Deputy Spokesperson of MFA

Thursday 8 February 2024 at 10.30 hrs.

Press Conference Room, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and MFA FB Live

1. Outcomes of the Cambodian Prime Minister’s Official Visit to Thailand (7 Feb 2024) – briefed together with Director-General of the East Asian Affairs Department

• On 7 February 2024, Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Cambodia, and his spouse, paid an official visit to Thailand as Guest of the Government. It was his first trip to Thailand since his assumption of duty.
• Major programmes
  • The Royal Audience with Their Majesties King Maha Vajiralongkorn
    Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua and Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana
  • With the Prime Minister: a bilateral meeting, being witnesses of 5 MoU signing ceremonies, and a Joint-Press Conference
  • A meeting with the President of the National Assembly and the Speaker of the House of representatives, and the President of the Senate of Thailand
• Key outcomes
  • Thailand and Cambodia agreed to elevate bilateral relations to strategic partnership.
  • Both countries will open new Consulates-General in Siem Reap and Songkhla this year.
  • Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation, notably in the following areas:
    • Cross-border haze – Cambodia expressed support for Thailand’s CLEAR Sky Strategy, along with the Lao PDR and Myanmar. Thailand stood ready to provide technical assistance and cooperate with Cambodia on emergency responses.
    • Trade – Both sides would later meet at the 7^th Joint Trade Committee and would continue to discuss in detail the possibility of establishing Special Economic Zones.
    • Security – Both sides were hopeful for more cooperation in border security, counter-measures against transnational crimes, cyber scam networks, and humanitarian demining.
  • The two Prime Ministers witnessed the signing of 5 documents namely:
    • MoU on Cooperation in the Area of Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response
    • MoU on Academic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation
    • MoU on the Transit of Goods
    • MoU between Export-Import Bank of Thailand and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce to promote trade and investment between Thailand and Cambodia
    • MoU between Board of Trade of Thailand and Cambodia Chamber of Commerce

2. Outcomes of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Sri Lanka (3-4 Feb 2024)

• On 3-4 February 2024, the Prime Minister, along with the Deputy Foreign Minister and the Thai delegation, paid an official visit to Sri Lanka as the Guest of Honour to attend Sri Lanka’s 76^th Independence Day Celebration, being the first Thai PM invited to such occasion. The Prime Minister discussed with the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, while both sides also held a plenary meeting to highlight close relations founded on a shared faith in Buddhishm, and agreed to expand their cooperation, especially in trade and investment.
• Key outcomes
  • The signing of the FTA between Thailand and Sri Lanka marked an important milestone for Thailand-Sri Lanka relations, as it would pave a way for more business opportunities in South Asia for Thai entrepreneurs. The FTA is also in line with Sri Lanka’s increasing foreign policy priorities in Southeast Asia.
  • Focused areas of cooperation: trade and investment, air services agreement, visa-free arrangement, cruise tourism among Thailand-India-Sri Lanka, two-way investment in fishing industry, renewable energy, and elephant welfare.

3. Outcomes of the 3^rd EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (IPMF) and the 24^th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) in Brussels, Belgium (1-2 Feb 2024)

• On 1-2 February 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the 3^rd IPMF and the 34^th AEMM in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss concrete cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in response to challenges in geopolitics, economy, environment, and digital transition in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Key outcomes
  • It was agreed that the EU could play a constructive role in promoting peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, through cooperation with ASEAN, while Thailand is looking forward to more ASEAN-EU-Thailand cooperation.
  • During bilateral meetings on the sidelines with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, the Deputy Prime Minister asked for their support in Thailand-EU FTA, Schengen visa exemption, and Thailand’s bid to join the OECD.
  • Among other regional issues, the situation in Myanmar and Thailand’s relevant humanitarian role gained increase attention. This gave Thailand an opportunity to further build upon the relations with the EU.

4. Outcomes of the 2^nd Thailand-Belgium Policy Consultations (6 Feb 2024)

• On 6 February 2024, the 2^nd session of the Thailand-Belgium Policy Consultations was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affaris in Bangkok, to discuss Thai-Belgian cooperation and foster mutual understanding.
• Key outcomes
  • This year marks 156^th anniversary of Thailand-Belgium relation, which would be a great opportunity for both sides to deepen bilateral relations and cooperation in areas that each country has high capacity, including logistics, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, research and academia, as well as green transportation between ports.
  • Both sides expressed commitment to promote high-level exchanges of visit to enhance cooperation in politics, trade and investment, creative economy, education, medicine, STI, clean energy, sustainable development, BCG-related industries, and people-to-people relations.
  • Both sides exchanged views on key regional and global issues, including situations in Israel-Gaza, Russia-Ukraine and Myanmar.

5. Travel expense reimbursement for affected Thai nationals from the situation in Israel-Gaza

• Since 7 October 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, already reimbursed to around 1,500 applicants from a total of 2,500 applicants, who had submitted all required documents. The process wil be complete in February. Additional 2,400 applications are under review of their documents.

6. Upcoming missions of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

• A field visit to Mae Sot district, Tak province during 8-9 February 2024 to follow-up on political, economic, and public health issues along the Thailand-Myanmar border and Thailand’s humanitarian aid to Myanmar
• An official visit to the U.S., in Washington, D.C. during 10-14 February 2024 to discuss bilateral relations and regional cooperation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Commerce, as well as relevant senators to foreign affairs and the region.

Replayed the full session at: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/c9rmpUrbWzpBrzHe/?mibextid=lpLi9V

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Press Division

8 February 2024