A delegation of the Royal Thai Embassy in Madrid visited the Port of Algeciras in Cádiz and the Halal Institute in Córdoba and had fruitful discussions with the authorities of both institutions on 29-30 August 2018.

On 29 August 2018, the Thai delegation visited the Port’s facility and held a bilateral meeting with Mr. Gerardo Landaluce, Development and Commercial Director of the Port, on how to enhance economic cooperation between the Port and Thailand, especially in the areas concerning halal business. The Port of Algeciras, one of the most important ports in Spain, is the country’s first halal certified port. Given its strategic location in the south of Spain, the Port of Algeciras serves to connect the trading routes between southern Europe and Africa.

On 30 August 2018, the delegation had a discussion with the Halal Institute to follow up on cooperation issues that were agreed upon by the Institute and a Thai delegation in a meeting held at the margin of the Expo Halal Alimentaria 2018 in Barcelona last April. At this meeting, the Embassy’s delegation and the authorities of the Halal Institute also looked into possible areas of cooperation to further strengthen the ties between the two countries. In this occasion, the Thai delegation had the opportunity to visit the Halal Industrial Park in Córdoba, established to promote halal industry in the city,  and exchange views on the promotion of halal tourism.

This visit to the south of Spain is in line with the Thai government policy to place Thailand in the Top 5 of global halal product exporting countries by 2020, as well as to promote halal tourism of the country.