The 6th Swiss-Thai Political Consultation is held at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

On June 29, 2023, the permanent secretary Thai Deputy Foreign Affairs Busadee Santipitaks and Mr. Heinrich Schellenberg, Under-Secretary of State and Head of Asia-Pacific Division, co-chaired the 6th session of the Thailand-Swiss Political Consultations at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs in Bern . Also in attendance were Mr. Chittipat Tongprasroeth, Ambassador of Thailand to the Swiss Federation; Ms. Marinee Suwanmoli, Deputy Director General of the Department of European Affairs; and representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Thai Embassy in Bern.

The Swiss side expressed its enthusiasm to host the 6th Political Consultations, which reflect the growing interest of the Swiss side in strengthening cooperation with Thailand through consultations and dialogues in line with Switzerland’s 2023-2026 Strategy for Southeast Asia. The strategy identifies bilateral relations with Thailand as diverse and dynamic and as the second largest economic partner in Southeast Asia. The Political Consultations contributed not only to maintaining the dynamism and continuity of Thai-Swiss relations, but also to review existing cooperation and explore possibilities for new collaborations.

During the meeting, both parties expressed their firm determination to continue improving cooperation in the areas of security, trade, investment, education, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Science, Technology and Innovation (CTI) between educational and research institutes. .

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The Meeting also agreed to further cooperation on sustainable development and climate action through, for example, Bangkok’s ongoing e-bus programme, in line with the Paris Agreement. Other topics of common interest were tourism and the expediting of the negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

The Thai side invited Swiss companies to expand their investments in Thailand in the fields of clean energy, electric vehicles (EVs) and their parts, waste management, the food industry and innovation, the bio-circular economy- Green (BCG) and investment in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).

In addition, the Thai side also took this opportunity to reassure the Swiss side about Thailand’s political development after the recent general election and economic potential. During the consultations, the two sides exchanged views on current situations and issues of mutual interest, as well as cooperation at the sub-regional, ASEAN, regional and global levels, such as global economic and political development, as well as the situations in Myanmar and Ukraine.

Political Consultations contributed not only to maintaining the dynamism and continuity of Thai-Swiss relations, but also to review existing cooperation and explore possibilities for new collaborations

During the visit, the Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs had the opportunity to meet with the Executives of the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) and Helene Budliger Artieda Budliger, Secretary of State for Economic Affairs (SECO) and former ambassador of Switzerland in Thailand from 2019 to 2022, to discuss key areas of economic cooperation.

With the 5th session hosted by Thailand in 2021, the Thailand-Switzerland Political Consultations serve as one of the key bilateral mechanisms to enhance political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. In addition, Thailand and Switzerland also hold consular consultations (at the Director General level) as another mechanism for bilateral cooperation.