Defence Minister Jana Černochová met with Defence Minister of Thailand Sutin Klungsang in Bangkok. During her official visit, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the two countries with the goal of promoting opportunities for the Czech defence industries in the Kingdom of Thailand. The Ministers also discussed training of Thai fighter pilots in the Czech Republic.
“Supporting the Czech defence industry is always among my priorities during international business trips, because our industries are in the position to offer a broad variety of top products and technologies. That is why I visited Thailand, which may be geographically distant, but it makes a perfect sense to deepen our cooperation,” said Minister Černochová. Minister Klungsang and Minister Černochová signed a Memorandum of Understanding on military and military-technical cooperation.
The Czech Republic has a long-standing cooperation with Thailand. One of its many examples is the training of Royal Thai Air Force pilots in the Tactical Simulation Centre of the LOM Praha Flight Training Centre in Pardubice. RTAF pilots train there using simulators of the JAS-39 Gripen and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters. Since 2015, a total of 12 one-week courses were held. LOM Praha also leads discussions with Thailand on possibilities for building a simulation centre in the Kingdom of Thailand.
The Defence Minister’s official program included a visit of the Defence Technology Institute (DTI), which is the Thai institution with the mission to strengthen national defence capacity through innovative technology solutions. From the beginning of this year, the DTI has had an agreement in place with the Tatra Trucks company and the Kingdom of Thailand received a prototype multipurpose Tatra truck as part of defence cooperation with the Czech Republic. “The offered Tatra trucks are in the inventories of the Czech Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. They are a cutting-edge product in its class, and have proven themselves in many demanding environments around the globe. I am therefore delighted that Thailand is considering the procurement of additional Tatra vehicles,” Minister Černochová said.
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