PM leads Thai-French business matching during Paris mission
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Thursday afternoon that his half-day visit to France has yielded rewarding results in business matching between Thai and French entrepreneurs in several key industries, including clean energy and defence.
Srettha and President Emmanuel Macron held bilateral talks on Thursday morning to follow up on the outcomes of their previous meeting in March, particularly in trade and investment, the defence industry, soft power and negotiations on a free trade agreement for electric vehicles.
The PM then attended the Thailand-France Business Forum, held at L'Apostrophe Business Centre in Paris. In his opening remarks, Srettha highlighted the government’s “Ignite Thailand” vision, a campaign to elevate Thailand into a global hub for tourism, wellness and medical, agriculture and food, aviation, logistics, future mobility, digital economy, and finance. The PM underscored the vast potential for French companies interested in investing in Thailand.
After the forum, Srettha witnessed the signing of MOUs between Thai and French agencies on trade, sustainable aviation fuel, and defence. France offered several military products and services to Thailand including aircraft, tanks, drones and cybersecurity while Thailand proposed joint military development programmes and training exercises.
Srettha noted France’s expertise in clean energy production from which Thailand can learn. He added that he has invited French energy agencies to attend the next Thailand-France Business Forum to be held in September to showcase their technology in clean energy and nuclear energy.
With his French mission now at an end, Srettha will visit Italy from today (May 17) to Tuesday and hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to promote relations between the two nations.
He will then fly to Tokyo to attend the 29th Nikkei Forum “Future of Asia” on May 22-24.
