The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss arrived in Bangkok today (Tuesday) to forge closer bilateral ties with Thailand and to develop the UK’s wider role in Southeast Asia, as part of her week-long tour of the region.
Thailand is Truss’ second stop after a visit to Malaysia. She will then visit Indonesia, her last stop.
In her two-day visit to Thailand, the UK Foreign Secretary will meet Prime Minister Chan-o-cha and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. On the agenda will be boosting of partnerships in digital and tech, as well as driving investment and security collaboration.
The UK and Thailand currently have bilateral trade worth around £4.7 billion (209.1 billion Baht or 6.37 billion USD), with more than 5,000 UK businesses exporting to Thailand.
“We want to step up our relationship with Thailand and take it to the next level in areas including tech, trade and investment,” said Truss.
“We need a deeper relationship that reflects Thailand’s growing economy and positions Britain at the heart of the fastest growing parts of the world,” she added.
The Foreign Secretary will formally open the new British Embassy in Bangkok and visit the Triumph Motorcycle factory, to promote British businesses in the region.
The Foreign Secretary will also host a business roundtable with leading British and Thai companies on Building Back Better and sustainable investment.
It is her first physical visit to the region as Britain’s Foreign Secretary, a post she assumed in September this year. The move comes as the UK is seeking to deepen ties in different parts of the world in the post-Brexit era.
In Malaysia, Truss held talks with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saifuddin Abdullah with tech collaboration being the one of the key issues.
