I am pleased to announce that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand accompanied by eight members of his Cabinet will visit Australia from Sunday 4 July to Tuesday 6 July 2004.
Dr Thaksin and I will witness the signing of the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the Thailand-Australia Agreement on Bilateral Cooperation and will chair a wider meeting of Australian and Thai Ministers in Canberra on Monday 5 July 2004.
Dr Thaksin and his colleagues will also visit Melbourne to promote the Free Trade Agreement and to undertake consultations with senior industry figures on 5 and 6 July.
Australia and Thailand enjoy a close relationship which is growing through excellent government-to-government links as well as strong economic and social ties. The two major Agreements to be signed during Dr Thaksin's visit are indicative of the importance of the relationship to both our countries and the willingness of both sides to develop the relationship further in the years ahead.
Our two countries both enjoy a high level of engagement with key partners in our region. We look forward to broad ranging discussion of a range of bilateral, regional and international issues.
Dr Thaksin will be accompanied by his Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Finance, Agriculture, Transport, Industry, Education and Natural Resources and the Environment.