Foreign Ministry denies hiring a US lobby firm
Foreign Ministry has denied report that Foreign Minister Surapong Tohvichakchaikul hired a US firm to lobby Washington to build a naval base in Thailand.
The document said the US firm would start representing the Thai government on the lobbying on October 31 this year.
“It was understood by the parties on the date of 10/31/2013, that the government of Thailand, via telephonic correspondence from its Embassy in Washington,DC would be represented by Davenport McKesson Corporation, the corporation would be entitled to upfront fees of $20,000.00USD. Davenport McKesson Corporation in turn agreed to represent the country on the following matters; Davenport McKesson Corporation agreed to provide lobbying services for the TheKingdom of Thailand inside the United States Congress and make certain lobbying efforts inside the Department of Defense, The Kingdom of Thailand is seeking to have the United States Department of Defense build a Nava lAir Defense Base in the Country, also thec ountry of Thailand seeks military assistance in establishing a safe harbor zone around its waters. Davenport McKesson Corporationa lso seeks to assis thecountry in establishing more trade representation centers in the United States,” the document said.
The PDF file of the copy of the document could be found at http://www.fara.gov/docs/6199-Exhibit-AB-20131122-1.pdf.