Thailand and Mie Prefecture to Forge Local-to-Local Ties
    On 30 October 2017, Mr. Munin Paniswasdi, Consul-General of Thailand to Osaka, visited Mie Prefecture to pay a courtesy call on Mr. Eikei Suzuki, Governor of Mie, on the occasion of his assumption of duty.  During the discussion, both sides agreed to promote bilateral relations between Thailand and Japan through cooperation between Thailand and Mie Prefecture.  Consul-General Paniswasdi expressed his readiness to push forward the existing Thailand - Mie cooperation toward concrete action and initiate new areas of potential cooperation based on both sides' mutual interest, e.g. youth exchange programme, cooperation in the field of sustainable environmental management, etc.
    Earlier that day, Consul-General Paniswasdi paid a site visit to Akatsuka Group which has three main business lines, including plants and farm gardening, manufacturing of water revitalization system and health and beauty product.  Akatsuka Group established its branch in Khon Kaen Province to cultivate and export various kinds of tropical plants.  The Company also organizes short-term and three-year training programmes in agricultural technology and farm management for Thai undergraduate students and graduates.  At present, there are eleven Thai trainees attending the training programme.