On 9-10 September 2020, leading up to the Third Negotiation, The sub-committee met at the Rama Gardens Hotel to hold a virtual Fifth Thailand-EU Joint Expert Meeting with the EU party. The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Somsak Sapakosonkun, Deputy Director, Royal Forest Department, and Mr. Diego Torres, International Relations Officer, DG Environment, European Commission.

“I sincerely hope that this Meeting will allow both sides to develop a mutual understanding on forestry law enforcement, governance and trade, which will help to promote the trade of legal timber and timber products in line with good governance develop the economy and improve the quality of life of our peoples and, in particular, mitigate the effects of climate change as well as support adaptation to the new normal in today’s rapidly changing world”, said Mr. Somsak Sapakosonkun.

‘This process should help Thailand not only to tackle illegal logging nationally, but also to take responsible action regarding timber imports from abroad. In addition, the VPA process will potentially contribute to strengthening Thailand’s reputation in the international market’, said Mr. Diego Torres. ‘I would like to express my appreciation to Thailand for the good progress made over the last two negotiation sessions. I would also like to congratulate the Royal Thai Government in achieving a milestone in forestry governance reforms by passing three new acts in 2019 (Forest Act, Forest Community Act and National Land Policy Committee Act), as well as several other relevant regulations from the Royal Forest Department.’

Both sides exchanged and discussed the internal legislative and policy developments undertaken in the past two years, related to the FLEGT-VPA process and the VPA agreement drafting. Conclusions from this meeting would frame negotiation points at the Thailand-EU Negotiation on 16 September. The VPA roadmap, jointly drafted by the Thai and EU expert teams, will be deliberated at the third Negotiation Session.