Thai Foreign Ministry plans to woo Schengen nations for visa waivers for Thais
Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said his ministry would ask the Cabinet to approve the ambitious Thai “passport empower” project before it starts negotiating visa-free entry for Thais in European Union nations.
Parnpree said on Wednesday that his ministry was drafting a comprehensive draft for the Cabinet to approve, after which the Foreign Ministry will hold talks with any country willing to sign a visa exemption pact with Thailand.
“This morning, the Foreign Ministry held a meeting on the Thai passport empowering project, and it will be submitted to the Cabinet for deliberation within two weeks,” Parnpree said.
He was responding to the opposition Move Forward Party, which has been ridiculing the government for trying to get visa waivers for Thais from as many nations as possible, including Schengen countries.
Move Forward said it was unlikely to win any agreements, especially after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin sought help from German President Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The Schengen Agreement is an international treaty that established the Schengen Area, a vast zone encompassing 26 European countries where internal border controls have been abolished. This means citizens of certain countries exempted from visa requirements can seamlessly travel between these countries without passport checks or immigration hassles.
The Move Forward said the Srettha government would never win a visa waiver as the European Union only ever considers approving exemptions for blocs, not individual countries.
Parnpree, however, said he has heard about the EU granting visa exemptions to many countries, both individually and as a group, and that Thailand would be ready to hold talks on mutual visa exemptions with the EU.
Saying that he does not know when the talks would begin, he added that several EU nations have voiced support for Thailand’s push for visa waivers.
