Summary of Weekly Press Briefing

Thursday, 8 September 2022 at 11:30 hours

Press Conference Room, MFA and via MFA Facebook Live

1. DPM/FM met with FM of the Russian Federation (6 Sep 22)

• DPM/FM met with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, FM of the Russian Federation, in Moscow and discussed the 125^th of Thai-Russian diplomatic relations in 2022. Both FMs discussed ways to enhance cooperation in all areas, including the preparation for the 8^th Meeting of the Thai-Russian Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JC) and the signing of pending agreements. DPM/FM also extended an invitation to the President of Russia to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in November 2022.

2. VFM presided over the launch of Thailand-Nordic Countries Innovation Unit (TNIU) (7 Sep 22)

• VFM Vijavat participated in the opening ceremony of TNIU. Established by the RTEs in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Helsinki, TNIU serves as a tool to strengthen collaboration in innovation between Thailand and the Nordic countries.
• TNIU has 3 main functions: (1) promoting knowledge exchange in innovation and technologies; (2) forging business partnership and investing in startups; and (3) strengthening academic-social-public partnerships in innovation.
• VFM underscored the role of TNIU as an essential mechanism for Thailand and the Nordic countries to work together in promoting innovation, expanding more investment opportunities, and creating innovation partnership between all stakeholders.
• MFA, Board of Investment (BOI), Chulalongkorn Univ., Nat’l Innovation Agency (NIA), and SCG signed the Declaration of Intention on TNIU. Other agencies in both regions are welcome to join this partnership.

3. MFA and IOM Thailand co-hosted media training on migration reporting (6 Sep 2022)

• MFA and IOM Thailand co-organised the inaugural Training on Migration Reporting. The event aimed to support media professionals on their coverage of migration issues and equip them with background information on regional and national situations, government policy, and related human rights frameworks, to strengthen their role in combating misinformation and negative stereotypes of migrants. The training was attended by both Thai and int’l media agencies and journalism students. 
• MFA Spokesperson gave opening remarks, underscoring Thailand’s role as a Champion Country working to advance the implementation of the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), including the elimination of all discriminations against migrants.
• Phuchphop Mongkolnavin, DDG of Int’l Org Dept., provided an overview of the role of various government agencies in assisting migrants, int’l frameworks related to migration, and the specific situation in Thailand, before ending with the critical role of the media in raising awareness on the contribution of migrants to the economy and society, and migrants’ rights.
• Participants exchanged views on migration, effective reporting, reliable fact-checking, interview guidelines for interviewing migrants, and applications on duty.

4. MFA won the Public Sector Excellence Awards 2022 in Public Service

• Consular Affairs Dept., MFA won the Public Sector Excellence Awards 2022 in Public Service for e-Visa service.
• The Public Sector Excellence Awards 2022 honours gov’t agencies that have shown commitment to successful public administration. The Public Service Category is awarded to gov’t agencies with improved public services in terms of convenience, promptness, transparency, fairness, and satisfaction.
• The live stream of the awards ceremony will be available on Monday 12 Sep 2022, 10.00 – 12.00 hrs. via the Facebook pages of MFA and OPDC.
• Thailand Int’l Cooperation Agency (TICA), MFA also won the “Ong Korn Khon Dee” (Humanised Organisation) Award 2022, which is given to the public and private sectors, and civil society with good governance.
• MFA has been ranked 6^th for the public sector’s Best Brand Performance on Social Media by Wisesight’s Thailand Zocial Awards. The Brand Metric includes both quantitative and qualitative communication aspects, including Social Mentions on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

5. Int’l Studies Centre (ISC) opened a new office (6 Sep 2022)

• On 6 September 2022, PS Thani presided over the opening ceremony of ISC’s new office. The event was attended by over 100 participants, including members of the diplomatic corps, MFA, universities, think tanks, and academia.
• The establishment of ISC intended to encourage the formulation of well-positioned and forward-looking foreign policy. Under its three main missions, ISC aspires to become: (1) a main source of knowledge on Thailand’s and Southeast Asia’s diplomacy; (2) a link for experts at both the global and regional levels; and (3) a leading policy research institute that is responsive to the world’s fast paced changes.

• ISC also held a seminar on “Sustainable Thailand: Economic Recovery and Development” with prominent Thai economists as guest speakers. These included Dr. ​Veerathai Santiprabhob, former Governor of BOT; Dr. Supavud Saicheua, an Advisor to Kiatnakin Financial Group; and Dr. Somkiat Tangkitvanich, President of Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
• The seminar focused on increasing geopolitical competition, climate change, and social inequality. These issues would define Thailand’s direction towards sustainable development, implying a need for appropriate monetary and fiscal policies as well as capable human resources. In this connection, the BCG Economy model would provide a good basis in realising that end.

• For more information, please visit isc.mfa.go.th and follow ISC on Facebook.

Weekly Press Briefing: https://fb.watch/fpcSNDvHa8/

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Press Division
Department of Information