An informed source has confirmed that on April 26 and 27, Thailand and Russia would conduct a Joint Thai-Russian Commission on Bilateral collaboration in Bangkok to advance collaboration in areas of shared interest.
Before the general election on May 14th, it will be the last significant bilateral meeting of the Thai interim government.
To advance cross-border relations, the commission was founded in 1993. The 8th session will take place in Bangkok and will build on the accomplishments of the 2022 gathering. Don Pramudwinai, the foreign minister of Thailand, and Alexey Chekunkov, the minister for development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, will preside over the meeting in place of Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia.
More than a dozen entities involved in various aspects of Thai-Russian collaboration will send officials to the joint committee. The meeting will examine the various areas of collaboration during the last year and will feature an exchange of ideas on how to further advance and strengthen cooperation in areas of shared interest, including political, security, economic, scientific and technological, agricultural, educational, and cultural concerns.
Thai-Russian ties were quite active before 2022, with real cooperation taking place in a number of areas. For instance, events were held to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the start of diplomatic relations last year, and there were multiple exchanges of high-level visits and meetings. Regular meetings of numerous sub-commissions and joint working groups, including those on agriculture, finance, energy, tourism, environment, and security were held.
Three hundred and seventy-five hundred visitors from Russia—more than 90% of all visitors—arrived in Thailand two months after it closed its borders to foreign travelers.
Thailand has maintained its autonomous policy and impartial position despite persistent pressure from Western friends and allies to adopt a hardline stance toward Russia. Thailand supported both resolutions passed by the UN General Assembly during the Russia-Ukraine conflict but chose to abstain from voting on the resolution addressing the largest European conflict since World War II.
