Bilateral consultations between Thailand and Norway have resumed after eight years, despite disagreement over Thailand’s energy operations in Burma.
The 12th consultation session was held on March 3 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, co-chaired by Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Vijavat Isabhakdi and State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Erling Rimestad . The focus was on clean energy and innovation, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry press release.
The meeting came after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund removed Thai energy giant PTT from its portfolio in December over concerns that its activities in Myanmar could fund human rights abuses by the junta. The US$1.3 trillion fund, the world’s largest, also scrapped PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) for the same reason.
At the Friday (March 3) meeting in Bangkok, the two sides exchanged updates on areas of cooperation between Thailand and Norway, such as academic research, sustainable fisheries and development, according to the foreign ministry.
Delegates also discussed new areas of potential cooperation, including clean energy. Norway is at the forefront of the global clean energy transition, the Thai ministry said.
Both sides expressed the desire to continue knowledge sharing and innovation collaboration, following the launch last year of the Thailand-Nordic Innovation Unit (TNIU) by Thai embassies in the countries. Nordic.
They also exchanged views on trade and investment between Thailand and Norway, which the ministry said has seen significant progress in recent years. Last June, Thailand and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – of which Norway is a member – announced the resumption of negotiations for the Thailand-EFTA Free Trade Agreement (EFTA) with the aim of achieving to an agreement by 2024.
This article is originally published on gavroche-thailande.com
