Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati as part of broader cooperation between Thailand and India to further enhance their bilateral ties.
The signing ceremony of the MoU was witnessed by Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who was visiting Thailand to attend the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting as the two countries celebrated the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations.
Prasar Bharati is India’s public broadcaster and a statutory autonomous body headquartered in New Delhi. It comprises the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio.
“Thai PBS and Prasar Bharati share similar values as public broadcasters. The MoU is the first step of our cooperation in exchanging of news and programmes, and cooperation in programme production and other areas to help contribute to a better understanding between peoples of the two countries,” said Thai PBS Director General Wilasinee Phiphitkul after signing the MoU on behalf of Thai PBS.
Indian Ambassador to Thailand Suchitra Durai represented Prasar Bharati in signing the MoU, one of the two documents on Thai-Indian cooperation signed during the ceremony. The other is an MoU on Health and Medical Research cooperation between the Department of Medical Services of Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, and the Indian Council of Medical Research of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Wilasinee said India currently plays an increasingly important role in both economic and geo-politics areas. She also noted that Indians now constitute the biggest group of tourists visiting Thailand.
“Our MoU with Prasar Bharati should provide Thai PBS with a great opportunity to help our audiences learn more about India through news and programme exchanges and vice versa,” she said.
Thai PBS currently has cooperation agreements with several other broadcasters in the region.
