On 6 June 2011, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Foreign Affairs Minister of Thailand, on the sidelines of the 10th Asia — Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held at Godollo, Hungary, had bilateral meetings with heads of delegation. Gist as follows;
1. Bilateral Meeting with Mrs. Asta Skaisgirtye — Liauskiene, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Lithuania — Both sides agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs stating that Thailand could learn from Lithuania’s best practices in the promotion of human rights and democracy, internet freedom, and participation of the civil society in democracy promotion. As the chairman of the Community of Democracies, the Lithuanian Vice Minister said that Lithuania attached high importance to cooperation and further invited Thai civil society representatives to Lithuania. Furthermore, to promote good understanding at the people to people level, both sides discussed the possibility of initiating media cooperation and networking with expectations that it would assist in bringing about economic cooperation as well as other forms of cooperation in the future. To promote educational cooperation, the Minister of Foreign Affairs asked the Lithuanian side to consider sending Lithuanian students to study in Thai universities which use English as a medium for instruction. The Lithuanian side, in turn, proposed that Thai students could also enroll in Lithuanian universities in subjects such as Information and Communication Technology, pharmaceutics and biotechnology. Educational cooperation in pharmaceutics and biotechnology would particularly benefit Thailand, because it has recently developed expertise in the area by positioning itself as a health and medical hub. Lastly, both sides agreed to have political consultation between senior officers on a regular basis.
2. Bilateral Meeting with Mr. Markos Kyprianou, Foreign Affairs Minister of Cyprus — Both sides agreed to explore means to enhance bilateral relations and to review the status of agreements. The Thai Foreign Minister said that Thailand could learn and work together with Cyprus in various fronts especially in maritime security and anti — piracy. They could also continue to encourage cooperation under the framework of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
3. Bilateral Meeting with Dr. Wolfgang Waldner, State Secretary for European and International Affairs of Austria — The Thai Foreign Minister reiterated that Thailand has played a crucial role in natural disaster management and humanitarian assistance, both at the regional and international levels. At the recent ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM - PLUS), Thailand pushed forward enhanced cooperation between the military and civilians in the areas of humanitarian assistance and natural disaster management. In addition, in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the United Nations General Assembly, Thailand proposed that U — Tapao Airbase be employed as a regional natural disaster management and training center supporting the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) in Indonesia. The Thai Foreign Minister stated that Austria could perform a crucial role by providing communication equipment such as satellite technology so that Thailand could further improve its early warning system. Furthermore, Thailand and Austria both agreed on establishing standards in food management as a means to enhance food security.
4. Bilateral Meeting with Mr. Laurent Wauquiez, Minister attached to the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of France, responsible for European Affairs— Both sides expressed satisfaction with the current bilateral relations, since Thailand and France had endorsed the 2nd Joint Action Plan 2010 -2014 last year. Moreover, both sides agreed to share knowledge and experience on best practices in areas in which Thailand and France shared a common interest. In the Asia — Europe Meeting framework, both countries agreed to set priorities on mutual interests and fields of cooperation in which all member states could learn from one another and together achieve.
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