Thailand has asked Russia to invest in setting up an aircraft maintenance centre in the kingdom, Defence Ministry spokesman Kongcheep Tantrawanich said yesterday.
Maj Gen Kongcheep said Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon had asked his Russian counterpart, Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu, to consider investing in the aircraft maintenance centre and the Russian defence minister said Russia was ready to support Thailand.
Maj Gen Kongcheep did not go into detail but simply said Thailand and Russia will sign a memorandum of understanding covering a wide range of mutual military cooperation moves.
Gen Prawit and Gen Shoygu yesterday met on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Russia defence ministers' meeting that kicked off on Monday and ends today in Moscow.
The event, held to celebrate 20 years of Asean-Russia ties, was attended by delegations from all 10 Asean member countries.
The meeting is aimed at strengthening bonds of Asean regional solidarity and cooperation with Russia.
Gen Prawit, who is also deputy prime minister in charge of security affairs, is representing Thailand at the meeting.
According to Maj Gen Kongcheep, Gen Shoygu told the meeting that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev places great emphasis on strengthening the relationship between Russia and Asean member states.
Gen Shoygu also told Asean countries that Russia considered them as neighbours. Russia had given Asean support in efforts to maintain regional security and create peace, Maj Gen Kongcheep said.
The Russian defence minister said his country was concerned about the persistent international terrorism threat and the need to uphold maritime security.
Russia had supported regional efforts to find a peaceful solution to conflicts, Maj Gen Kongcheep said.
Solutions must abide by international law and regulations, he added.
Maj Gen Kongcheep said Gen Prawit told the meeting that Thailand and Russia had played a pivotal role in Asean's development.
The two nations had been instrumental in creating a balance of power among Asean member countries, he added.
Thailand had supported regional efforts to solve security problems peacefully, he quoted Gen Prawit as saying.