Press release

Minister for Asia visits Thailand to discuss trade and security ties and welcome UK vaccine cooperation

Minister for Asia, Amanda Milling, has concluded her visit to Southeast Asia with a 3-day tour of Thailand.

• From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and The Rt Hon Dame Amanda Milling
• Published: 14 January 2022
• Last updated: 17 January 2022 — See all updates

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Minister for Asia, Amanda Milling, has concluded her visit to Southeast Asia with a 3-day tour of Thailand.

Meeting Vice Foreign Minister Vijavat, Minister Milling spoke about boosting economic, digital and technology ties between the UK and Thailand as well as working together on shared interests such as recovering from COVID-19 and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

Minister for Asia Amanda Milling said:

We are committed to boosting our cooperation with Thailand across the board, including on trade and investment, technology and sustainable development, as well as through our political dialogue.

As security partners, the UK and Thailand also need to work side-by-side to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific, and to tackle major regional challenges.

With a current trading relationship in excess of £4.7 billion and more than 5,000 British businesses exporting to Thailand, the minister also focused her visit on forging new economic links between the UK and Thailand.

This included the offer of honest, reliable infrastructure finance by the new British International Investment group and hosting a roundtable with major businesses working in the region.

The minister also discussed UK-Thailand collaboration on energy and infrastructure in a meeting with Minister of Energy Supattanapong Punmeechaow and visited Siam Biosciences, which is the regional production plant for AstraZeneca’s ground-breaking COVID vaccine, saving lives and aiding the COVID recovery.

Also on the agenda was the ongoing situation in Myanmar, in particular strengthening the provision of humanitarian relief and supporting international efforts to resolve the crisis. The UK has already provided humanitarian assistance to over half a million people since the coup almost a year ago.

Read more about Minister Milling’s time in Cambodia as part of her visit to Southeast Asia.

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Published 14 January 2022
Last updated 17 January 2022 + show all updates

1. 17 January 2022

   Added translation

2. 17 January 2022

   Added translation

3. 14 January 2022

   First published.