Thailand, UK announce upgrading of relations to strategic partnership
Thailand and the United Kingdom on Wednesday (March 20) signed a strategic partnership roadmap agreement, an upgrade to their current bilateral ties.
In town to ink the agreement, Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs of the UK, received a warm welcome from Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs. This was the UK envoy’s first visit to the Kingdom.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the two sides discussed trade and economic promotion through the launch of the Thailand-UK Free Trade Agreement initiative, which will build upon the progress of the Enhanced Trade Partnership. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin also participated in the discussions.
“The elevation to strategic partnership marks a significant milestone in the two countries’ relations, as they will celebrate the 170th anniversary of their diplomatic ties next year. The UK is the first country in Europe with which Thailand has a strategic partnership,” the ministry said.
Other issues discussed during the meeting were cooperation in security, science and technology, tourism, education and especially visa exemptions for Thai ordinary passport holders.
The Srettha administration is known to be keen on promoting tourism by cancelling the mandatory requirement for a visa.
Earlier, Srettha unveiled that he had received a good response on the likelihood of a waiver of the Schengen visa for Thai citizens after engaging in negotiations during his trip to Europe earlier this month with the European Union.
The move follows the visa-free agreement between Thailand and China, which came into effect on March 1. The partnership allows citizens of both nations to freely enter each other’s country.
The representatives from both countries also exchanged views on regional situations, including the situation in Myanmar and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The Thai side expressed appreciation for the UK’s support of Thailand’s membership application of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
On February 8, the Thai premier signed a letter of intent to become an OECD member and set up a committee to push for admission in the hope of being recognised for its global economic standard which will help attract trade and investment to the country.
