On 15 December 2010 at 14.00 hrs, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr. Karim Ebrahim Al-Shakar, Undersecretary for International Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok, on the sideline of the Third Asia-Middle East Dialogue Ministerial Meeting (AMED III).
The Bahraini Undersecretary for International Affairs took this opportunity to extend his felicitations on the occasion of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 83rd Birthday Anniversary on 5 December 2010.
Both sides exchanged views on several issues pertaining to bilateral relations and expressed their satisfaction over the progress of cooperation in many areas. Expressing his appreciation to the Thai side for choosing Bahrain as a location for setting up the Thailand Distribution Centre, which had made good progress, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Undersecretary Al-Shakar affirmed his government’s readiness to render any other necessary assistance to this endeavour and his hope that the Centre would help increase trade between Thailand and Bahrain as well as between Thailand and other countries in the Middle East. In addition, both sides agreed to increase interaction between their respective private sectors, especially in the areas of investment in stock markets, construction industries, infrastructural development and tourism.
On his part, the Thai Foreign Minister proposed that Thai and Bahraini governments consider promoting trilateral cooperation to provide assistance in such areas as development, education, tourism and public health to other countries in the region as well as the Palestinian Authority. As several GCC countries have also invested in agricultural land in Africa, Thailand stands ready to provide agricultural management services given its expertise in this field.
Foreign Minister Kasit also informed the Bahraini side of the current situation in the Southern Border Provinces (SBPs), noting that there had been positive developments and that the Royal Thai Government had been pursuing a policy to promote progress in various areas in the SBPs including education and social development. The Bahraini side expressed their support for the approach taken by the Thai side in this regard.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th