On 23 February 2009, Mr. Hartmut Nassauer (European People’s Party), member of European Parliament from Germany and Chairman of the Delegation for relations with Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN, together with Ms. Giovanna Corda (Socialist Party), member of European Parliament from Belgium and Vice-chairwoman of the Delegation, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
The visit reaffirmed the importance to which the European Parliament attached to the Thai-EU relations and as a positive gesture from the European Parliament in supporting the efforts of the Thai Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Foreign Minister Kasit stressed that the Thai Government adheres to democracy, rule of law and human rights in its conduct of both domestic and foreign policies. Foreign Minister Kasit also reiterated PM’s remarks at World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos when he underlined the need for countries not to divert from free trade particularly in times of the looming world economic crisis. Thailand, as a leading exporter in the food sector, stands ready to cooperate with the EU on trilateral cooperation by extending assistance to Thailand’s neighboring countries and Africa.
The Thai Government fully supports the on-going negotiation on the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Thailand and EU and on an FTA between ASEAN and EU. On the FTA, ASEAN has some concerns over the EU’s laws and regulations, which has high standards, and that ASEAN would merit greatly from capacity building assistance from the EU in the transitional period.
The Members of European Parliament expressed their wish for PM Abhisit to visit the EU in Brussels in the near future. They reaffirmed the importance the EU attaches to Thailand and ASEAN. EU hoped to see the development of democracy and human rights in the region. Foreign Minister said that ASEAN can benefit from the EU’s experiences and basic ideas, though the EU itself is still making efforts in finding a common identity as well as the “border line” or the limits where EU member states will be willing to sacrifice their limited sovereignty on certain areas. On Rohingya issue, the EU welcomed the Thai PM’s position on this matter and that it is being currently addressed at the Senior Officials’ Meeting under the Bali Process framework in Brisbane.
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