Thai-Norwegian talks resume despite disagreement over Myanmar
Thai-Norwegian bilateral consultations have resumed after eight years despite disagreement over Thailand’s energy operations in Myanmar.
The 12th consultation session was held on March 3 at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok, co-chaired by Thai Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Vijavat Isabhakdi and Norway’s Foreign Ministry State Secretary Erling Rimestad. The focus was on clean energy and innovation, according to the Thai Foreign Ministry press release.
The meeting came after Norway’s sovereign wealth fund dropped Thai state energy giant PTT from its portfolio in December over concerns that its activities in Myanmar were funding human-rights abuses by the junta. The US$1.3-trillion fund, the world’s largest, is also axing PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) for the same reason.
The United Nations reported on Friday that Myanmar’s military regime has launched a “war against its own people” since seizing power in February 2021, killing at least 2,940 people and displacing more than a million.
Friday’s meeting in Bangkok saw both sides share updates on areas of Thai-Norwegian cooperation, such as academic research, sustainable fishery, and development, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Delegates also discussed new areas of potential cooperation, including clean energy. Norway is at the forefront of the global clean energy transition, the ministry said.
Both sides expressed a desire for further knowledge-sharing and collaboration in innovation, following last year’s launch of the Thailand-Nordic Countries Innovation Unit (TNIU) by Thai Embassies in Nordic countries.
They also exchanged views on Thai-Norwegian trade and investment, which the ministry said had shown significant progress in recent years. In June last year, Thailand and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – of which Norway is a member – announced the resumption of the Thai-EFTA Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the aim of reaching an agreement by 2024.
