On 11 March 2016, after the conclusion of the 14^th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting, H.E. U Thant Kyaw, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, commenced his official visit as guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Both sides discussed several issues in Thailand – Myanmar bilateral relations as well as political development in Myanmar. Furthermore, Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar also informed the Foreign Minister that the objective of this visit was to learn from Thailand’s experience on how to reform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with particular focus on the establishment of the “Diplomatic Academy,” which could play an important role in providing trainings for newly recruited diplomats.  

In the afternoon of the same day, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar took a study visit to Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs (DVIFA), which is the key agency responsible for diplomatic training.  Ms. Pattarat Hongthong, Director of the DVIFA, led the Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar to observe the DVIFA’s training and learning facilities and to participate in the workshop on international event management, which was provided to civil servants from Da Nang Municipality, Vietnam, in preparation for hosting the 25^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and related activities in 2017. The Director of the DVIFA also gave a short briefing on the structure and administration of the DVIFA.  On this occasion, the Director of DVIFA extended the invitation, through the Deputy Foreign Minister of Myanmar,  to Myanmar diplomats to participate in Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Executive Programme which will be held between May – August this year.