Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson, Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen arrived in Bangkok in the afternoon of 16 January 2005.
The three were due to receive a warm welcome by Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and to attend a royal audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej before visiting Phuket and Phang-nga provinces on 17 January.
The Prime Ministers visit Thailand as guests of the Thai government due to the loss of thousands of Scandinavian lives when the giant tsunami waves struck the west-coast of Thailand on the 26 December 2004.
The most important place of the visit will be Khao Lak, Phang-nga which is considered the worst area the waves hit.
Information from the embassies of the three countries shows that 52 Swedish nationals have been confirmed dead, while 597 are still missing. Norway has lost at least 12 of its nationals, with 82 still unaccounted for, while Finland has confirmed five of its nationals as dead and has said that 177 remain missing.
