The European Union’s Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response in her meeting with the Thai Foreign Minister on 14 March 2011 gave support to Thailand’s role in humanitarian assistance to those fleeing fighting in Myanmar as well as regional connectivity, while pledging to further cooperate with Thailand in enhancing disaster preparedness within the region.
Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, told Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya that the EU appreciated Thailand’s constructive role in Myanmar. She also said that during her visit to the temporary shelters at Thailand’s border with Myanmar, the displaced persons appreciated being given the opportunity to work and to receive skills training, acts which helped to provide them with both dignity and skills.
Foreign Minister Kasit expressed his gratitude for Georgieva’s pragmatic and deep understanding of the regional situation and confirmed that Myanmar, Thailand, and ASEAN were working together ensure that human rights are guaranteed within the region. He also noted that intellectual input and the sharing of best practices from the EU would be useful in developing democratic institutions within the region, particularly in the area of cross border facilitation, which was an integral factor in ASEAN’s Connectivity Masterplan.
Foreign Minister Kasit also said that Thailand was facilitating registration in Thailand of foreign workers as well as matching supply and demand of labour from Thailand’s neighbours, a development which Georgieva welcomed. Foreign Minister Kasit also recounted his meeting at the 16th General Session of the UN Human Rights Council with Ant?nio Guterres, United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, when he stated Thailand’s readiness to closely cooperate with the UNHCR on people movement.
The Foreign Minister and the EU Commissioner agreed that there existed a mutual will between Thailand and the EU to further enhance cooperation in disaster preparedness and humanitarian assistance. Foreign Minister Kasit said that Thailand is in its initial stage to study and explore viable options for a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Preparedness Center at Utapao Airport. This establishment will further enhance and promote Thailand’s role and capabilities in training, rapid deployment and as a depot for humanitarian foods, materials and logistics. Utapao Airport could also be used, the Foreign Minister suggested, to dispense food aid as directed by the World Food Program.
EU Commissioner Georgieva in turn noted that the EU was already motivated towards improving its international response system and was looking to increase trilateral partnership, particularly in disaster-prone Asia, to increase resilience within the region.
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