The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives of the Kingdom of Thailand (MOAC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for agricultural cooperation.
The MoU aims to build on the existing relationship between the countries, and sets out mutual goals and activities to strengthen their trade relationship in relation to agri-food.
Specifically, it agrees continued strengthening of future cooperation at strategic and working level focusing on promoting and encouraging cooperation in the fields of agriculture; horticulture; animal husbandry; fisheries; aquaculture; food processing; agricultural policy; and the reciprocal advantages.
The signing ceremony of the MoU took place on February 7, at Defra’s London-based office, with director general for strategy of Defra, Lucy Smith, representing the department, and permanent secretary Prayoon Inskul representing the MOAC.
Inskul was the signatory of the MoU, along with the permanent secretary of Defra – Tamara Finkelstein.
Both the UK and Thailand will benefit from exchange of visits, information technology and training, and will facilitate cooperation on matters of mutual interest and concern.
They will also discuss priority issues, encourage technical cooperation and promote agricultural trade and the reduction of non-tariff barriers, Defra said.
Discussions between Defra and MOAC were centered around:
- The significance of the inaugural UK-Thailand Agriculture Dialogue, which sets out the three pillars of cooperation;
- Market Access Interests, focusing on the value of UK-Thailand trade in agricultural goods and the importance of our agri-trade relationship and highlight our interest in strengthening our agri-food trade;
- Areas of interest for future cooperation, exploring further areas of interest for future collaboration.
