 |
|
|
|
In Focus |
Foreign Minister's Official Visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain
|
At the invitation of His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon, Foreign Minister, paid an official visit to Manama, the capital of Bahrain on 1-2 July, 2005 after attending the 32nd OIC Foreign Ministers' Conference in Yemen.
During his stay in Bahrain, the Thai Foreign Minister called on H.H. Shaikh Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain, who hosted a dinner for him and the Thai delegation at his own residence in the evening of 1 July. The Bahraini foreign Minister, Education Minister and Communication Minister were also present at the dinner.
On 2 July, Dr. Kantathi met with his counterpart, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, at the Ministry of Foreign affairs of Bahrain. Both agreed that bilateral ties between the two countries had been excellent. The Bahraini side proposed to the Thai side on the ongoing Thai-Bahraini Free Trade Arrangement (FTA) negotiation that the Thai side consider enlarging the scope of the FTA by negotiating with the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as a whole.
Bahrain is a GCC member and currently hold the position of the president of the Council. Other GCC Members are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, UAE and Kuwait. The Bahraini side also invited more Thai business people, especially those in construction industry, to come to Bahrain.
The two foreign ministers also discussed on bilateral cooperation in security and intelligence, energy, aviation, tourism, and other economic matters; as well as cooperation between Thailand and Bahrain in the multilateral fora, including the OIC and the United Nations. The Thai side also asked the Bahraini Government to consider opening its Embassy in Thailand.
On the same day (2 July), Dr. Kantathi met Dr. Majid Ali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Education of Bahrain, who as the head of the Bahraini delegation to the OIC Foreign Ministers' onference had met the Thai Foreign Mnisiter in Yemen during the Conference. The Minister of Education of Bahrain also hosted dinner for the Thai Foreign Minister and his delegation on this occasion. |
|
Also refer to Photo Gallery
|
|
|
|