British Minister, Mr Mark Field, visits Thailand
UK minister in Thailand to improve bilateral ties.
The Rt Hon. Mark Field MP, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Minister for Asia and Pacific, arrives in Bangkok today for wide-ranging talks including on education, funding in science and technology, human rights and Thailand’s election plans.
The UK and Thailand have a strong relationship focused on practical cooperation. Mr Field is here to deepen this.
In Bangkok, Mr Field will meet Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong to discuss the strength of the relationship and opportunities to increase our bilateral trade and prosperity.
He will join the Newton Fund Awards Ceremony, to announce the first-ever Newton Fund Prize to be awarded to a research team in Thailand. This highlights our £23 million Newton Fund’s support for collaboration on research and innovation in science.
He will see the Minister for Education Teerakiat Jareonsettasin to take forward the UK and Thailand’s commitments on English language training, STEM and vocational education. They will also discuss opportunities for foreign universities to set up branch campuses in Thailand.
Mr Field will speak to other political figures, to hear their views on the political roadmap and the upcoming elections. And he will meet Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists to offer UK support, hear about their work in the region, and the challenges they and other Human Rights Defenders face.
At the National Legislative Assembly he will speak to members of the Financial Technology (Fintech) Committee and express the UK’s commitment to deepening our relationship with the NLA and cooperating to promote financial technology.
Mr Field said:
Thailand and the UK share a long and deep relationship, I’m pleased to be here, to meet my Thai counterparts to build and expand on this. We’ll be developing many practical areas of cooperation: from education and our science and technology collaboration through the Newton Fund, to shared trade and prosperity priorities. This will be underpinned by discussions on Thailand’s upcoming elections and human rights.
Mr Field arrived from attending the Asia Europe Meeting, ASEM, in Naypyidaw, Burma, and goes on to Seoul in South Korea