The Russian delegation at the talks included Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Maxim Oreshkin, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, co-chair of the Joint Russia-Thailand Commission on Bilateral Cooperation Alexei Chekunkov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund Kirill Dmitriev.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Thailand is Russia’s oldest partner in Southeast Asia. Last year, we celebrated the 125th anniversary of our diplomatic relations.
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Our relations have always been based on mutual respect, friendship and regard for each other’s interests, and they are still developing in a wide range of areas, including in the cultural, economic and political spheres.
Unfortunately, amid the turbulence in international relations, our mutual trade decreased slightly last year. I hope that the joint commission on bilateral trade and economic cooperation will make its contribution to reverse this trend.
I am very pleased to note that our cultural relations have not been put on hold. As of today, 150 young people from Thailand are studying in Russia. The tourist flow is increasing; in January-September 2023, almost one million Russian nationals visited Thailand. In 2024–2025, we will hold cross years of cultural exchanges and tourism in Russia and Thailand.
Mr Prime Minister, we are cooperating actively on the global stage. For our part, we will do our best to make our relations develop as intensively as possible and contribute to the development of our states.
I am very happy to see you, and it is nice to meet you.
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand Srettha Thavisin (retranslated): I am happy to meet with you today. As you said, Thailand and Russia enjoy long-term friendly relations, and we recently marked the 125th anniversary of our diplomatic ties.
We do not have much time today, so I will speak of what is most important. This includes agricultural production issues.
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