At the Government House, H.E. Mr. Felipe de la Morena Casado, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Spain to Thailand, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha on occasion of his assumption of duty. Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister and Acting Government Spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri disclosed gist of the meeting as follows:
The Prime Minister welcomed the Spanish Ambassador on behalf of the Thai government and people. He commended close relations between Thailand and Spain, especially the political consultations which dynamizes bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and investment, education, ocean governance, and aquatic animal conservation. The Prime Minister affirmed Thailand’s support over the Ambassador’s tenure in Thailand, and wished Spain all the success in its Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the second half of 2023.
The Spanish Ambassador expressed pleasure to be tenured in Thailand. As the two countries will celebrate the 153 rd anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, he committed to further strengthen relations and cooperation with Thailand in all aspects. The Ambassador also commended the Thai Government’s promotion of green transition through BCG Economic Model, which is in line with Spain’s policy on eco-friendly and sustainable economic development.
Both parties also discussed other issues of mutual interest:
The Prime Minister and Spanish Ambassador came to terms to reinforce security cooperation. The Ambassador expressed Spain’s readiness to promote exchange of experiences and military personnel training.
On economic cooperation, the Spanish Ambassador was pleased with an increase of mutual trade value. Thailand and Spain have potential for more trade and investment opportunities, and Spain commits to encourage its investors to increase investment in Thailand. The Prime Minister called on the two sides to make the most use of RCEP, and to promote economic cooperation towards green and digital transition through the BCG Economic Model. He also extended the invitation for Spanish investors to invest in Thailand in the fields of their expertise, i.e., energy, medicine, rail transport, an S-curve industries in the Eastern Economy Corridor (EEC), as well as the BCG industries.
With regards to education cooperation, the Prime Minister was pleased with the ongoing negotiation for the MOU on education and transport cooperation, and hoped that the two countries seek further cooperation in other areas of mutual interest, such as, exchange of expertise, personnel skill enhancement, and tourism. The Ambassador expressed readiness to work together with Thailand in the development of Spanish language teaching and learning, and in promoting education cooperation at the college level.
The Spanish Ambassador committed to promote tourism and people-to people relations between the two countries, which would help enhance economic development of both Thailand and Spain. Both parties also commended Thailand’s cooperation with Casa Asia, an organization under the umbrella of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Union with the Cooperation of Kingdom of Spain, as a result of which Thailand-Spain Forum will be held for the first time in June 2023 in Bangkok.
The Prime Minister also hoped for Spain’s support on the negotiation of Thailand-EU FTA, on which the Ambassador affirmed Spain’s support in a bid to advance economic relations between Thailand and EU, and Thailand and Spain.
The Prime Minister was also pleased with Spain’s engagement under the ASEAN framework. Thailand Plus One policy would be able to link Spain with other ASEAN countries. The Ambassador affirmed Spain’s priority placed on the ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific region for mutual benefits.
