Summary of Weekly Press Briefing 26 January 2024 at 11.00 hours
Summary of Weekly Press Briefing 26 January 2024 at 11.00 hours
วันที่นำเข้าข้อมูล 26 Jan 2024
วันที่ปรับปรุงข้อมูล 26 Jan 2024
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Official Visit to Thailand of President of the Federal Republic of Germany and Spouse (24-26January 2024)
On 25 January 2024, the Prime Minister welcomed the President of Germany and spouse at the Government House, on the occasion of his official visit to Thailand, which is the first official visit of the President of Germany to Thailand in 22 years.
Both sides discussed ways forward to enhance cooperation in trade and investment, electric vehicles (EVs), circular economy, environment, semi-conductor, railways and vocational education, with the hope to elevate bilateral relations to a strategic partnership in the future. During the Joint Press Conference, the German side highlighted the importance of climate change and green transition, while stressing that Thailand is an exciting market for German investors.
In the same morning, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and M.L. Chayotid Kridakorn, Thai Trade Representative, led relevant business agencies to discuss with German business delegates led by H.E. Mr. Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary at Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. Both sides exchanged views on economic situations and ways forward for Thai-German trade and investment cooperation. The business delegation represented 5 sectors, including exhibition electric/automobile renewable energy/environment services/digital/education construction/infrastructure.
During this visit, the President of Germany also visited an Mercedes-Benz assembly factory in Samutprakarn province, and has travelled to Ubon Ratchathani province to explore Thai clean energy potentials at the Sirindhorn Dam and the sustainable agriculture project, which is a collaboration between Germany and Thailand. He also visited Pha Taem National Park, one of the most popular eco-tourism destinations in the region.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs attended World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 (WEF2024) in Davos, Swiss Confederation (16-18 January 2024)
On 16-18 January 2024, the Deputy Prime Minister joined the delegation led by the Prime Minister to WEF2024 by the invitation of the WEF. This year, there were more than 2,800 attendants from over 100 countries, among these were 50 head of states/governments and more than 100 high-level government representatives.
On the sidelines of the WEF2024, the Deputy Prime Minister had 2 bilateral meetings with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to thanks ICRC for coordinating the rescue of Thai hostages in Israel, and the Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to discuss issues of mutual interest and reiterate Thailand’s aspiration to become a member of OECD.
He also exchanged views in 4 WEF events, which were (1) Diplomacy Dialogue on Myanmar: Preventing a Lost Decade, an academic talk with a closed group of experts on the situation in Myanmar; (2) Strategy Session on National Action to Advance the Circularity of Plastics; (3) Roundtable on Trade, Climate, and Finance; and (4) Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) Roundtable on Preventing Economic Fracture
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister, together with the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, also attended bilateral meetings between the Prime Minister and 6 government and international organisation leaders, namely, President of the European Commission, Prime Minister of Belgium (President of the European Union during January-June 2024), President of Swiss Confederation, Prime Minister of Cambodia, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, and WEF Founder and Executive Chairman.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs attended the XIX Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (19th NAM Summit) in Kampala, Republic of Uganda (18 – 20 January 2024) and paid a visit to South Africa (21 – 23 January 2024)
On 19-20 January 2024, the Deputy Foreign Minister attended the 19th NAM Summit as the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister. He delivered the speech under the Summit’s theme of “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence,” underlining the importance of strengthening NAM and upholding Bandung Principles. The Deputy Foreign Minister also addressed various international situations of concerns, including the situation in the Middle East that Thailand called for a permanent ceasefire and a peaceful solution, and appeals for the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages.
During the visit, the Deputy Foreign Minister also paid courtesy calls on the President of Uganda, as well as the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Lesotho and Benin.
During 21 – 21 January 2024, the Deputy Foreign Minister paid a visit to South Africa and discussed with the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa and the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of South Africa.
Official visit of H.E. Mr. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China (26-29 January 2024)
The Chinese Foreign Minister pays an official visit to Thailand, as the Guest of the Government, during 26 – 29 January 2024 to promote bilateral cooperation on trade, investment, security, culture, tourism, as well as issues of mutual interests. His schedule includes (1) a courtesy call on the Prime Minister, (2) co-host with the Deputy Prime Minister the First Meeting of the Consultation Mechanism between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and the People’s Republic of China, and (3) co-sign with the Deputy Prime Minister a visa exemption agreement, which will enter into force from 1 March 2024.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs’ upcoming overseas missions
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM) Retreat to be held during 28 – 29 January 2024 in Lao PDR, which will be the first ASEAN foreign ministers meeting during Lao’s chairmanship under theme “ASEAN: Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience.”
The 3rd EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (IPMF) and 24th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) to be held on 2 February 2024 in Belgium, of which 27 EU member states and all ASEAN countries will discuss cooperation areas and issues of mutual interest.
Scams claiming to be government officials to obtain personal information
Recently, there have been reports of fake facebook pages, Line IDs and websites claiming to be of the Consular Department or government officials, trying to obtain personal information of receivers. These scams also reported by other Thai missions abroad, e.g. in Sydney and Tokyo
In this regard, the Ministry would like to advise everyone, especially Thai community around the world, to be careful and to check against the official channels of the Ministry, the Royal Thai Embassies, and the Royal Thai Consulates-General.