Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, during her visit to London on 21-23 May 2025, held discussions with the United Kingdom’s food exporters and representatives of the Association of Thai Businesses in the UK, such as Selfridges, CP Intertrade, Boonrod Brewery (Singha), Chang Beer, Thai Tana, Asco, Manning Impex, Patara Restaurants, and Bangkok Bank.

The discussions focused on efforts to increase trade in Thai agricultural, food, and lifestyle products and to push for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in order to reduce trade barriers and facilitate the employment of Thai chefs and traditional Thai masseurs in the United Kingdom.

The Prime Minister assigned various agencies under the “Team Thailand” to work closely together to expand Thailand’s trade and investment with the UK and make the two countries become close economic partners, thus leading to FTA negotiations with both the UK and other European countries in the future.

Statistics compiled by the Ministry of Commerce show that, in 2024, the UK was Thailand's fourth-largest trading partner in the European region, with trade value of 6,657.26 million US dollars. Out of this value, Thai exports to the UK amounted to 4,195.66 million dollars and imports from the UK came to 2,461.60 million dollars.

During her visit to London, Prime Minister Paetongtarn presented new “Thai SELECT” certificates to 20 Thai restaurants in accordance with the Thai government’s policy to promote “soft power” in the food sector and make Thai cuisine better known internationally. The Thai SELECT is a mark of certification awarded by the Ministry of Commerce to guarantee the authenticity of Thai food products and Thai restaurants.

There are currently 18,852 Thai restaurants overseas. Since 1988, 1,779 restaurants have been certified with “Thai SELECT.” In the UK, a total of 115 Thai restaurants have received the Thai SELECT certification, and they are located in such major cities as London, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.

In London, the Prime Minister also visited the Fight City Gym to discuss ways to promote the soft power of Muay Thai in the UK, in terms of marketing, training, competitions, and cooperation with international sport organizations. There are now more than 50 Muay Thai camps in London.

Muay Thai has been designated part of Thailand’s significant soft power, with a unique identity in terms of both sport and tourism that can play an important role in developing the country’s creative economy.

The Prime Minister on 23 May left London for Monte Carlo, the Principality of Monaco, to meet executives of Formula One Group to discuss the feasibility of Thailand’s hosting of a Formula 1 Grand Prix (City Circuit). She is scheduled to return to Thailand on 25 May.