PARIS – Thailand has garnered the support of France for its plan of a visa-free agreement with European countries in the Schengen area, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Tuesday.
As Thai authorities intend to accelerate negotiations for a free trade agreement with the EU, the government also pushes for visa liberation by the European countries for which it is lobbying at a grand scale.
In a media interaction, the Thai premier said the French president was willing to support Thailand’s bid to achieve a visa-free deal with the Schengen area.
Mr. Srettha said Thailand and France could begin their joint push for the visa-free initiative after the 2024 European Parliament election which is scheduled to be held from June 6-9.
As far as the timeline is concerned, the premier said a resolution is possible by the end of this year adding that he had stressed Mr Macron that a visa-free programme would not only bring more opportunities to tourists and businesses but also provide opportunities for people of Thailand and the Schengen countries to cooperate in other aspects.
As for the Thailand-EU free trade agreement, Thailand now expects negotiations to yield a fruitful result in about 18 months, he was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.
It is to be highlighted that Thailand is opening up to the outside world as the social distancing protocols have been lifted. The government has also inked visa-free agreements with multiple countries. In particular, it has signed a visa-free agreement with China on a permanent basis starting this March.
As far as the Schengen bid is concerned, the government is also calling on Germany to lend support to the proposal which would ease the travel of Thai citizens to over two dozen countries in the zone and would also help attract more Europeans to Thailand.
