H.E. Mr. Dénes Tomaj, Ambassador of Hungary to Thailand paid a courtesy call to H.E. Mr. Teeradej Meepien, President of the Senate on 10th November 2011. H.E. Mr. Nikom Watrapanij, First Vice-President of the Senate, the Chairman of Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, the Secretary General and the Spokesman of the Senate as well as collaborators of the Office of the President of the Senate attended the meeting.

The President of the Senate thanked and reciprocated the best wishes of the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly, and appreciated the expression of Hungary’s sympathy and solidarity over the floods in Thailand extended by the Hungarian Ambassador. Ambassador Dénes Tomaj briefed the President of the Senate on Hungary’s experiences in flood protection and on the monitoring and early warning systems established in Hungary. The President of the Senate underlined that flood is not an unusual event in Thailand, but this year’s inundations have been the worst of the last 60 years as far as their size and devastating economic damages are concerned. Thailand needs the expertise and international know-how in flood prevention, and looks forward to sharing experiences.

H.E. Mr. Teeradej Meepien evaluated the relations between the legislative bodies of Thailand and Hungary as being strong and having a long history, and positively appreciated the outcome of the visit to Hungary of the first Vice-President of the House of Representatives three years ago, as well as the visit of the Chairman of Standing Committee of the House of Representatives in December 2010 and the visit of the Deputy Secretary General of the Senate in January 2011. Experiences drawn from these visits to Hungary have been implemented in the Thai legislation. A Thai-Hungarian friendship group has been operating in the Thai Parliament for the last 20 years. The Hungarian Ambassador informed the President of the Senate on the functioning of a South-East Asia Friendship Group in the Hungarian National Assembly consisting of 30 MP’s.