Thailand’s prime minister invites Putin to visit his country

Thailand’s Prime Minister Yinglak Shinawatra has invited Russian Prime Minister to pay a visit to her country. The proposal was made at a meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Vladivostok.

“I am very glad that you found an opportunity to come to Vladivostok,” Putin said. “I must say that we would be glad to see you in Russia on a return visit at any convenient time for discussing our relations in a wider format.”

Putin said that Thailand was Russia’s “old-time and reliable partner.” This year marks the 115th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

“Our economic ties are developing actively. We have taken note of growing mutual investments, including Thai investments in Russia’s agriculture,” Putin said. Last year bilateral trade exceeded four billion dollars.

“We very much appreciate the relations that we have with Thailand’s royal family,” Putin said. He asked to convey the best wishes to all members of the royal family.

Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov earlier said the king’s younger daughter, Princess Chulabhorn Mahidol, who is heavily involved in the promotion of chemical and biological research worldwide, would pay a second visit to Russia in September.-NTAP-TACC (September 08, 2012)