President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso, on Sunday
made an official visit to the Kingdom of Thailand as Guest of the Royal Thai
Government.
The was the first official visit
ever by a President of the European Commission to Thailand, and reflects a
“resolve to build a stronger and deeper partnership,” according to the European
Commission.
Barroso met with Her Excellency
Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, at the Government House
for bilateral discussions, followed by a dinner hosted in his honor.
According to European Commission,
“Both leaders held substantive and fruitful discussions on the strengthening of
political, commercial and investment relations between Thailand and the
European Union. Prospects of an EU – Thailand Bilateral Partnership Cooperation
Agreement and Free Trade Agreement were central topics of the discussions.”
Highlighted in the discussions
between both leaders were the promotion of relations in the political, social,
trade and investment areas, the promotion of tourism, including the
facilitation of people-to-people contacts, and cooperation in capacity
building.
In this context, Barroso praised
the Thai Prime Minister for Thailand’s return to political stability and its
strong economic performance. The Thai Prime Minister, in return, congratulated
the European Union for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in recognition of
its contributions to the advancement of peace, reconciliation, democracy and
human rights in Europe.
The Thai Prime Minister also
invited the EU to take advantage of Thailand’s strategic location to intensify
the EU’s trade and investment relations with ASEAN and beyond. Both leaders
also exchanged their views on the global economic and financial situation.
Both leaders stated their firm
commitment for an early conclusion of the Thailand-EU Partnership Cooperation
Agreement and the launch of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement in early
2013. These two key documents will form the cornerstones to strengthen the
foundations of the Thailand – EU relations.
The bilateral discussions also
embraced developments in the region, in particular ASEAN’s centrality in the
evolving East Asian regional architecture, Thailand’s important role in ASEAN,
and the forthcoming 9th ASEM Summit in Vientiane.
President Barroso commended
Thailand’s proactive role in improving the connectivity of ASEAN and stressed
the importance of peaceful settlement of territorial and maritime disputes. The
Thai Prime Minister encouraged the EU to further engage more actively with
ASEAN and intensify ASEAN-EU relations and cooperation. Both leaders welcomed
the ongoing reforms in Myanmar and emphasized the importance of joint efforts
to render support to Myanmar’s reform process.
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