Thai FM confirms French PM’s official visit to Thailand

BANGKOK, January 31 (TNA) - The Department of European Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Wednesday the upcoming official visit to Thailand by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Aryault, scheduled for February 4-5, at the invitation of his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra. Accompanied by his wife, Madam Brigitte Aryault, and a high-level, over-120-member entourage comprising certain French ministers and leading business persons, His Excellency Jean-Marc Aryault is scheduled to arrive in Thailand on the evening of February 4. The French Premier will, on February 5, give a keynote speech on Franco-Thai relations at Thammasat University, inaugurate a Franco-Thai business forum and meet with the French community in Thailand at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Bangkok. The French Premier will then meet his Thai counterpart at Bangkok's Government House later in the day, during which the French and Thai leaders will witness the signing of five agreements on bilateral cooperation on all sectors. Before his departure from Thailand, ending his two-day official trip to the Kingdom, the French Premier will attend a dinner banquet hosted by his Thai counterpart. According to the European Affairs Department, the upcoming official visit represents the first-ever by a French Prime Minister in over two decades and by a French high-level representative in seven years, which is believed to enhance bilateral relations between Paris and Bangkok. (TNA)