Vice President and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Baroness Catherine Ashton has paid a courtesy call on Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at the Government House.

Both parties expressed their gratitude for each other’s support and welcomed stronger economic relations as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) have seen a significant progress.

Yingluck also thanked the EU for its warm welcome when she was on tour to Belgium early this year. She also expressed Thailand’s readiness to facilitate the visit next week of Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani, who is bringing European investors to the kingdom to discuss business opportunities with Thai entrepreneurs.

Host and guest discussed a possibility for Thai passport holders to be exempted from Schengen Visa. Yingluck told the EU High Representative that since Japan granted visa exemption to Thai nationalities, Japan has seen an increase of 85 percent in the number of Thai tourists.-VNA