Thailand and Germany have signed an agreement to extend their railway system development cooperation for another two years, according to a Transport Ministry press release yesterday.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob and German Ambassador Georg Schmidt signed an agreement to extend a joint declaration of intent (JDI) on further cooperation on the development of railways in the kingdom between the ministry and Germany's Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, it said.
The signing reportedly took place during a workshop held on Thursday under the theme of "High Speed Rail: The Changing Face of Thai Railways. In the Series of Railway Technology, Operations and Management".
A ceremony was also held to officially unveil the German-Thai Railway Association (GTRA), which was registered on Sept 13, the Thai ministry said.
The two countries first signed the JDI on Nov 23, 2016, it said, noting the agreement was valid for three years and that it could be extended if the two sides agreed.
The JDI was previously extended twice, the ministry said, adding the latest extension took effect retroactively from Nov 23 until Nov 22, 2023.
The bilateral cooperation under the JDI has led to a number of promising initiatives.
These include the establishment of the GTRA, as well as academic cooperation between Thai universities and Germany's RWTH Aachen University and the Dresden University of Technology, Mr Saksayam said.
He also gave the example of workshops created to exchange knowledge and experiences related to railway research, personnel development and technology.
Mr Saksayam said the cooperation with Germany would help improve the development of Thailand's railway system, adding German technology plays a major role in the development of Thailand's 14 electric rail routes.
Jackrit Suthakorn, dean of Mahidol University's faculty of engineering, said the official launch of the GTRA is another major step in technology transfer from Germany to researchers in Thailand to develop the kingdom's railway system.
The MU's faculty of engineering is proud to be one of the GRTA's founding members, and the faculty also helps push for an exchange of knowledge on railway development and technology transfer between Thailand and Germany, Mr Jackrit added.