His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa today received, at Gudaibiya Palace, his Thai counterpart General Prayut Chan-o-cha, currently on an official visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain at HRH the Premier’s invitation.
The Premier stressed the importance of the valued added visit which, he said, would usher in a new dimension for joint relations of friendship and cooperation. Gen. Chan-o-cha paid tribute to HRH the Premier, describing him as charismatic leader and a symbol of wisdom and experience, earning wide-ranging respect and honour.

The Thai leader congratulated HRH the Premier on being conferred the Arab League’s Development Shield Work, hailing Bahrain’s landmark strides in all fields. “Bahraini-Thai relations have become a model of interstate ties which are based on mutual respect and common interests’, HRH the Premier said, looking forward to consolidating trade and investment cooperation, particularly food security. He hailed Thai landmark strides in all fields, commending the contributions of the Thai community to Bahrain’s development and progress.

The two leaders urged more cooperation between countries in the region and the he Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states to consolidate security and stability, build bridges of cooperation and coordination and push GCC-Asian relations forward.

Gen. Chan-o-cha paid tribute HRH the Premier’s keenness on bolstering joint cooperation, hailing his initiatives to expand GCC-Thai cooperation. “The Kingdom of Bahrain is the closest friend to Thailand in the region”, he said, commending the Premier’s directives which strengthened joint ties.