Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will make an introductory visit to Thailand from 28 to 29 March 2016 at the invitation of Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai.
Minister Balakrishnan will have an audience with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who will also host lunch for Minister Balakrishnan. In addition, Minister Balakrishnan will call on Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic and Foreign Affairs Dr Somkid Jatusripitak and Privy Councillor General Surayud Chulanont.
Minister Balakrishnan and Minister Don will jointly officiate at the Opening Ceremony of the 12th Coordinating Meeting of the Thailand-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP 12) on 28 March 2016. CSEP is an important mechanism for the two civil services to review existing collaboration and explore new areas of cooperation. It encompasses 13 cooperation clusters[1] involving more than 30 agencies from Singapore and Thailand. The theme of CSEP 12 is “Promoting Cooperation among Civil Service Agencies to Support ASEAN Connectivity”. CSEP 12 will be co-chaired by Mr Chee Wee Kiong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore and Mr Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Minister Balakrishnan will be accompanied by senior officials from various Singapore government agencies.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
27 MARCH 2016
[1] The 13 clusters are: i) Civil Service Cooperation; ii) Education; iii) Environmental Cooperation; iv) Health; v) Information and Communication Technology; vi) Legal and Judicial; vii) Manpower; viii) Media, Arts and Culture; ix) MFA-to-MFA Cooperation; x) Science and Technology; xi) Social Welfare, Youth and Sports; xii) Technical Cooperation; and xiii) Transport.