Foreign minister meets Thai counterpart

Manama, Feb. 21 (BNA): The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa, met today his Thai counterpart Don Pramudwinai, who is on an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain. During the meeting, Shaikh Khalid welcomed Pramudwinai, expressing his pride in the growing relations between the two Kingdoms, praising their mutual support in various fields of cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern. He affirmed the keenness of Bahrain on further promoting coordination with Thailand to meet aspirations and common interests. The Thai official expressed his pleasure at visiting Bahrain and meeting Shaikh Khalid, affirming Thailand's interest in promoting close relations with Bahrain at all levels for the benefit of the two countries and the two friendly peoples, wishing Bahrain further progress and prosperity. Shaikh Khalid affirmed, during the third meeting of the Joint Committee of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Kingdom of Thailand, the deep relations between the two Kingdoms since the establishment of diplomatic relations between them 40 years ago, and Bahrain's keenness to develop these distinguished historical relations so that the two sides benefit from closer cooperation between them. Shaikh Khalid stressed the role of the successful official visits between the two countries in enhancing the distinguished relations between the two Kingdoms, recalling the visit of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa to Thailand to attend the second Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit held in Bangkok in October 2016, and the official visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand, General Brayut Chan Ocha, to Bahrain in April 2017. Shaikh Khalid affirmed the importance of the joint committee meeting between Bahrain and Thailand in developing bilateral relations in various fields including trade and investment, energy, food security, health and medical services, tourism, culture, agriculture, education, labor and vocational training, environment, information, human security and others, noting the importance of signed agreements and memorandums of understanding on cooperation in various fields in reaching the full potential of this cooperation. During the meeting, the two sides expressed their satisfaction with the advanced level of ties between the two countries, and praised the mutual support in all fields and in all international forums. The two sides affirmed the need to enhance the follow-up of the agreements reached between the two friendly countries and the mechanisms to activate them and implement them in order to further develop cooperation in all fields. The two sides decided to hold the fourth meeting of the joint committee in Thailand.