Sihasak advises Thais to delay non-essential travel amid European protests
Sihasak Phuangketkeow urges Thais to monitor unrest in France, Italy and Spain and consider delaying non-essential travel to affected areas.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow has urged Thai nationals travelling to parts of Europe to exercise caution and consider postponing non-essential trips as protests continue in France, Italy and Spain.
Sihasak said on Wednesday (October 21) that he was particularly concerned about the situation in France, where tensions remained high, as well as developments in Milan and continuing protests in Spain.
He advised Thai travellers to closely monitor developments because conditions could change rapidly and to check information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Thai embassies in the countries concerned.
“If there is no real need to travel, it would be better to postpone trips to countries where these incidents are taking place,” Sihasak said.
He said the situation in Milan had also affected his diplomatic schedule. Italy’s foreign minister had been required to attend an urgent Cabinet meeting as the Italian government sought to prevent the situation from escalating, leading to a request to postpone bilateral talks with Sihasak until the following day.
Sihasak said the postponement was unfortunate because he was due to travel onwards to Spain and had several issues he had hoped to discuss with his Italian counterpart.
The Thai Foreign Ministry had scheduled Sihasak’s visit to Italy, the Holy See, Spain and Portugal from October 18-25 as part of efforts to strengthen political and economic ties with Southern Europe.
Sihasak said Italy was seeking a greater role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region and regarded Thailand as an important partner. He noted that Thailand had several projects that could provide opportunities for Italian businesses, including infrastructure development.
Bilateral trade between Thailand and Italy was worth about US$5 billion, which Sihasak described as still relatively limited. Director-general-level officials had nevertheless held discussions, while Thailand planned to invite the Italian foreign minister to visit the country in the future.
