On 30 April 2009, H.E. Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, paid an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the very first visit to the Middle East since his appointment as Foreign Minister. The main purpose of this introductory visit is to further strengthen the already strong ties between the two countries.
Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was granted an audience with H.H. Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain and H.H. Shaikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Bahrain. He also had meetings with H.E. Dr. Nezar bin Sadiq Al Baharnah, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Essam Abdulla Yousif Fakhro, Chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The discussions are focused on the current status of the bilateral relations, mainly in terms of political, economic and educational cooperation. In regional and multilateral spheres, the two sides talked about the 1st full-fledged ASEAN — GCC Ministerial Meeting and cooperation in the OIC. The Foreign Minister also took this opportunity to update the Bahraini side on the political situation in Thailand and the current situation in the Southern Border Provinces.
Later in the afternoon, the Foreign Minister met with members of the Thai community in Bahrain and gave an update on the current political situation as well as listen to their concerns. During the visit, the Foreign Minister gave interviews to several local media .
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