Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing this evening to discuss bilateral issues, according to the Thai Government House.

It said in a Facebook post that the two leaders met at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse before attending a dinner reception hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping.  It was the first meeting between them.

Srettha and Putin are among leaders and representatives from more than 130 countries attending an international forum on Belt and Road Initiative.  Srettha is also scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with President Xi.

Russian news agency Sputnik reported that Putin was also scheduled to meet with Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong, Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith during the gathering.

It said Putin has emphasized the Global South’s significance in light of the emerging multipolar world order and pledged to strengthen Russian connections with Asian nations.

Posting on X social media platform, Srettha said he had meetings today with executives of several China’s major business, finance and telecommunication conglomerates, including Alibaba, CITIC Limited, and CRRC Corporation.

“Every company I talked to today expressed interest in investing in Thailand,” he said.

He said some have already invested in Thailand and were urged to expand their investments during his talks with them.