On 21 – 22 February Norwegian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Marianne Hagen, made the first visit to Thailand at a political level since the coup in 2014, reports the Royal Norwegian Embassy, Bangkok. Her programme entailed both a bilateral visit as well as participation in the UN Global Sustainable Development Goal on Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG7) conference.
”In a very fruitful and positive meeting with Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Virasakdi Futrakul, many issues were touched upon. One of them was how Norway and Thailand can cooperate on sustainable development.
”Norway and Thailand has a 111-year history of positive bilateral dialogue and also close trade relations. Afterward, she therefore met representatives from the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce as well as Norwegian business leaders in Thailand to discuss their activities.”
Ms. Hagen delivered a keynote address at the UN Conference where she emphasized Norway’s strong commitment to the SDG7 on energy for all. She also underlined the importance of improving access to climate friendly energy, the tight cooperation with the private sector and the importance of a gender perspective for reaching the SDG7.
Support to Clean Energy is one of the main priorities of the Norwegian Development Policy. Norway spends above 1 percent of its GDP on development assistance.
Royal Norwegian Embassy in Bangkok