Prayut meets Brazilian foreign minister to discuss enhanced ties
Brazil’s Foreign Minister Aloysio Filho on Wednesday paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at Government House, the first in 21 years by a foreign minister from the Latin-American country.
Filho also delivered a message from Brazilian President Michel Temer expressing regret that he could not visit Thailand as scheduled, as he is busy with the national reform.
After the meeting, deputy government spokesman Maj-General Weerachon Sukhontapatipak said Prayut had told Filho that he hoped Temer would be able to visit Thailand soon and he was always welcome.
Both Prayut and Filho said Thailand and Brazil enjoy an excellent relationship through cooperation on trade, investment, military matters, energy, tourism and agriculture.
Thailand and Brazil will celebrate their 60 years of diplomatic relations next year, when Thailand will also take the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member Asean grouping.
Weerachon said that both countries should take this opportunity to strengthen relations and cooperation for mutual benefit.
Prayut also invited investors and businesspeople from Brazil to engage in Thailand’s fields of food innovation, the bio-economy, and advanced petrochemicals.
He mentioned aviation maintenance as a field in which Brazil has expertise that could contribute to the Eastern Economic Corridor.
“Brazil could use Thailand as a centre for investing in other Asean countries,” Prayut added.
About 83,000 tourists from Brazil visiting Thailand last year – the largest group of tourists from the Latin American region. Prayut and Filho agreed both their countries should cooperate more to develop their tourism links.