On November 3-7, 2017 the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak paid a working visit to the Kingdom of Thailand to participate in the International Exhibition ‘Defense and Security 2017’ and to hold negotiations with the military-political leadership of Thailand and other countries.

The ‘Defense and Security’ is the largest exhibition of military equipment and dual-use products in the region of South-East Asia, taking place every two years in the Thai capital - Bangkok. This year’s event was attended by delegations from more than 40 countries that were represented at the level of heads of defense ministries and commanders-in-chief of various branches of troops.

On November 6, 2017 Stepan Poltorak held talks with the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Defense of Thailand Prawit Vongsuwan and the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Army Chalermchai Sittisart. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine briefed Thai partners on the recent development of the security situation in Donbas, counteraction by the Ukraine’s armed forces against the Russian military aggression, as well as on the progress in strengthening the defense capabilities of Ukraine and development of the domestic defense industry. The parties expressed mutual interest in furthering of the development of the bilateral military and military-technical cooperation, emphasizing that interaction in these areas remains one of the most important dimensions of the Ukrainian-Thai cooperation.

During the visit the Minister of Defense of Ukraine held separate meetings with the Deputy Minister of the National Defense of Vietnam, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Thailand and the Undersecretary for Turkish Defense Industries. Stepan Poltorak has also inspected products exhibited by Ukrainian producers, including the State Company ‘Ukroboronprom’, ‘League of Defense Enterprises of Ukraine’, ‘RPA Practika’, ‘Ukrinmash’, ‘Ukrspetstehnika’, ‘Techimpex’ and paid a special attention to the ‘BTR-4E’ – the Ukrainian-made APC of the last generation, which according to the Thai organizers of the event, was one of the most ambitious highlights of this year’s exhibition.

A working visit of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Thailand has greatly contributed to the positive dynamics of contacts between top representatives of the military and political leadership of Ukraine and Thailand and gave an opportunity to outline the prospects for a further development of bilateral Ukrainian-Thai military and military-technical cooperation.