On 15 December 2010 at 14.30 hrs, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency Mr. Ra’ouf Saad, Assistant to the Foreign Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt and AMED General Coordinator, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok, on the sideline of the Third Asia-Middle East Dialogue Ministerial Meeting (AMED III).
The Thai Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to the Egyptian side for its extensive contribution to the AMED discussions. In response, Mr. Saad commended Thailand’s excellent organisation of the AMED meeting in all aspects whether logistically or substance-wise. In discussing how the cooperation amongst AMED countries could be further strengthened, Mr. Saad raised the possibility of knowledge sharing among AMED countries such as organization of workshops in areas of interest. In this regard, Foreign Minister Kasit noted that there were many possible areas which could be explored for furthering cooperation and exchange of experiences and best practices, such as education, addressing the problem of piracy in the Indian Ocean, the fight against terrorism, and the use of Arab media to enhance knowledge and understanding among the Middle Eastern and Asia-Pacific countries. People-to-people contact could be enhanced through promotion of visits to Islamic and Buddhist holy sites and provision of additional scholarships to Muslim students in Asian countries. In addition to the topics mentioned by the Thai foreign minister, Mr. Saad suggested that issues such as food and energy security should also be included.
As for bilateral issues, both sides expressed satisfaction on the state of their cooperation in various fields and shared the view that relations between the two countries could be further strengthened. In this connection, they agreed that the Third Meeting of the Joint Commission between Thailand and Egypt and the Political Consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, the fifth session of which Egypt would host, should be held at an early opportunity. They also expressed the hope that that their respective private sectors would be more actively involved in promoting bilateral economic relations, including by taking advantage of Egypt’s strategic location as linkage between Thailand and countries in the Middle East as well as those in Africa.
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