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Press Remarks By H.E. Mr. Samak Sundaravej, Prime Minister of Thailand
On the Occasion of the Visit by President George W. Bush
6 August 2008, Bangkok
We are pleased to welcome President Bush's visit to Thailand on the auspicious occasion of the celebration of 175th anniversary of Thai-US relations. Since Thailand also takes up the ASEAN Chairmanship this year, we will use these opportunities to strengthen our engagement and cooperation with the US, both bilaterally and through ASEAN.
President Bush and I just had a very good discussion on several issues of common interest. We discussed the strengthening of our close military and security cooperation which benefits both countries and the region. A case in point is our military's close partnership during the tsunami and the post Cyclone Nargis to facilitate access of American relief assistance to the affected countries. We will continue our discussion on other regional issues over the dinner this evening.
President Bush expressed his appreciation for Thailand's humanitarian roles in sheltering displaced persons from the neighboring countries for over 30 years. I also thank the President for the United States' understanding on the Preah Vihear issue.
We agree to enhance the Thai-US relations by focusing on education, science, and law enforcement cooperation. Our two countries share a long and special connection. President Bush's parents, former President Bush Senior and Mrs. Barbara Bush, came to Thailand to pay tribute to His Majesty the King on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of Accession to the Throne in December 2006.
Looking toward the future, we agreed that our alliance and friendship will remain firm and close, as it had been in the past 174 years. We are determined to continue working closely together to further strengthen our relationships and goodwill for the benefit of our two countries and the region.
Government Spokesman Bureau
Foreign Relations Division