On 15 December 2010 at 14.50 hrs, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya held a bilateral meeting with Her Excellency Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, Bangkok, on the sideline of the Third Asia-Middle East Dialogue Ministerial Meeting (AMED III). Both sides discussed various topics of common interests.
During the discussion, development of infrastructure and connectivity was highlighted as one of the main issues in which Thailand and Bangladesh could increase their cooperation. The Bangladeshi Foreign Minister informed the Thai side of infrastructural projects which her government would be undertaking with a view to promoting Bangladesh as a regional hub. In this regard, Foreign Minister Kasit noted that Thailand also is interested in making investments in projects overseas.
The Thai Foreign Minister expressed Thailand’s readiness to provide assistance to Bangladesh through the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), which is increasingly focusing on country-specific programmes. The areas of cooperation which were specifically related to Bangladesh could include disaster prevention, educational cooperation, healthcare and promotion of trade as well as the role of the private sector.
Foreign Minster Kasit also expressed his view that development of the Ranong Deep Sea Port would shorten the distance between Bangladesh and Thailand and help improve connectivity between the two countries, while the promotion of the Bay of Bengal Port Connectivity would contribute to enhancing the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) as well as South-South Connectivity. To these ends, Thailand would try to bring about the cooperation of the Asia Development Bank and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
On other bilateral issues, the two Ministers agreed that visa exemptions would help to encourage people-to-people exchanges between their two countries.
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