Thailand and Italy are working on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on agricultural cooperation that will cover production, trade and investment, according to Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Narumon Pinyosinwat.
Speaking after meeting with Italy's Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida on Monday, Ms Narumon said a new MoU is needed to set a clear direction for future cooperation between the two countries.
Mr Lollobrigida said that officials from Thailand and Italy explored various ways to drive up the growth of both countries' agricultural sectors at the meeting, including the possibility of expanding two-way imports and exports.
Calling the bilateral discussion "fruitful", Mr Lollobrigida also said Italy is ready to support the Thailand-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), by assisting Thailand in improving sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and its sustainable food systems.
Thailand's exports to Italy from January to September this year were valued at 11.88 billion baht, an increase of 3.32 billion baht compared to the same period last year.
Key export products included pet food for retail, frozen squid products, natural rubber, smoked rubber sheet, partially-milled rice and milled rice, processed fish products, fruits and vegetables.
Ms Narumon said the government also discussed the possibility of facilitating knowledge exchange between silk producers and fashion designers to support the Thai government's soft power promotion policy.
"The talks also touched on the possibility of exchange of know-how on silk cloth production and design because Italy is the world's leader in fashion," she said.