Equatorial Guinea's President arrives in Thailand

BANGKOK, March 13 (TNA) - Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo arrived in Thailand on Wednesday for his four-day official visit to the Kingdom, scheduled for March 13-16, at the invitation of the Thai government to bolster bilateral relations. The Equatorial Guinean President's ongoing visit is his first official trip to the Thai Kingdom, also the first of the western African country's top leader, since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1991, with both sides aiming to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation. The Thai government has planned to hold an official welcoming ceremony for the visiting Equatorial Guinean President and his entourage, including a group of business operators, at Bangkok's Government House on March 14, after which he will hold talks with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and members of the Thai Cabinet on bilateral and regional cooperation on trade and investment, as well as on future development plans. During his official visit to Thailand, the Equatorial Guinean President is also scheduled to visit the Materials Innovation Centre and top oil refineries of the country and to lead his country's business operators to meet with their Thai counterparts to further promote bilateral investment of the two allied nations. Equatorial Guinea is one of the African countries with the highest economic growth and has a vital role in fostering ties between Africa and other regions across the globe. The Equatorial Guinea President has postponed his official visit to Thailand, from March 7-10 to March 13-16, due to his obligation as the President of the Cooperation Forum of Africa and South America States or ASACOF to attend the funeral of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. (TNA)