On 16 February 2012 Mr. Evaldas Ignatavi?ius, Vice Foreign Minister of Lithuania, met with Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul on the occasion of his visit to attend the 2012 OSCE-Thailand Conference in Chiang Mai and the 1st Political Consultation between Thailand and Lithuania in Bangkok. In this regard, both sides took this opportunity to discuss ways and means to strengthen the cooperation between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Surapong expressed his congratulations on Lithuania’s Independence Day and expressed his satisfaction on overall bilateral relations between the two countries. As next year will mark the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Lithuania, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed his intention to further strengthen the existing cooperation with Lithuania in all areas, especially in the exchange of high-level visits and ministerial bilateral meetings. Furthermore, the Foreign Minister was also pleased that the 2012 OSCE- Thailand Conference produced fruitful outcome, with Lithuania as the Chair of the OSCE Asian Contact Group in 2012. Thailand, as an Asian Partner for Cooperation in Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSEC) is thus delighted to work with Lithuania in all areas to foster the relations between OSEC and Asian partners. Lastly, Foreign Minister Surapong informed the Vice Foreign Minister of Thailand’s candidature to host the World Expo 2020 in Ayutthaya province and wished that Lithuania would support Thailand on this matter.
The Lithuanian Vice Minister expressed his deep appreciation to the Thai side for organizing the 2012 OSCE- Thailand Conference. The conference played an important role in sharing experience and exchanging views on various areas, from transnational crimes to sustainable transport and energy security, which would yield benefit to the long-term cooperation and security among OSCE members and partners. The Vice Minister also tooked this opportunity to invite the Foreign Minister to pay an official visit to Lithuania as one of the activities to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries. During the visit, the Vice Minister also wishes that the two sides could consider signing pending agreements, such as the Air Service Agreement and the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income. In this regard, the Foreign Minister accepted the invitation and would invite the Thai private sector to join, in order to promote mutual trade and investment between the 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