Thailand will raise the possibility of pursuing joint development schemes at bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (Fealac), which is convening today in Bali, Indonesia.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul will hold bilateral talks with representatives from Argentina, Colombia, Nicaragua and Guatemala on the sidelines of the meeting.
Fealac, which will run until tomorrow, is the only forum where foreign ministers from East Asian and Latin American countries meet to discuss cooperation in a wide range of development areas such as tourism, education, trade and drugs eradication.
Sek Wannamethee, director-general of the Foreign Ministry's America and South Pacific Department, said Mr Surapong will represent Thailand at Fealac at the ministerial level.
He said Thailand will serve as Asia's coordinator at Fealac for the next two years and Mr Surapong will use this occasion to raise joint development schemes that could link the two continents.
Thailand will introduce an alternative crops plantation approach to Latin American nations for their drugs eradication programme, and propose boosting business interactions and the exchange of academics, Mr Sek said. Bangkok will propose sharing information on its 30-baht universal healthcare policy as a way to help the public access affordable medical treatment, he said.
Mr Sek said Fealac might hold a leadership summit in the near future, bringing together heads of governments of the two regions. The grouping was set up 12 years ago, and has 36 member countries.
At the end of the meeting tomorrow, the ministers will approve the Bali Declaration to cooperate in transport, food security, energy security, small-medium enterprise (SME) development, education, natural disaster protection and tourism.