Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand Reaffirmed the Strong and Long-Standing Partnership and Advocated Reinvigoration of Bilateral Engagement between Thailand and the U.S. at the 7th Thailand – U.S. Strategic Dialogue
The Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand co-chaired the 7th Thailand – United States Strategic Dialogue via telelconforence to review bilateral relations and common strategic priorities, reinvigorate bilateral engagement and reaffirm the strong security and defense alliance between Thailand and the United States.
On 21 May 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand hosted the 7th Thailand – United States Strategic Dialogue via teleconference. The Thai delegation was led by H.E. Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, while H.E. Mr. Atul Keshap, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, led the U.S. delegation.
The Dialogue reviewed the bilateral relations and common strategic priorities. Both sides reaffirmed the strong and long-standing partnership and looked forward to reinvigorating the bilateral engagement and working together on the issues of shared values and priorities.
Both sides reiterated the importance of the Thailand – U.S. strong security and defense alliance, which has long contributed to the peace and prosperity of the region and remains the cornerstone of the long-standing relations. Both sides also discussed ways to further strengthen security cooperation, including in addressing non-traditional security challenges such as cyber security, health, human security and human trafficking, among others.
The Dialogue highlighted the bilateral economic ties, which remain strong despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thailand – U.S. economic and development partnership, both sides deliberated on ways to enhance cooperation on COVID-19 preparedness and responses, securing a strong and resilient supply chain between the two countries, climate change, clean energy and technology, which are in line with both the Thai Government’s policy on Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) and the U.S. Government’s priority on climate issues.
On this occasion, both sides exchanged views on the current regional strategic landscape, particularly key regional developments and common challenges. They also discussed ways to promote cooperation at the sub-regional and regional levels through existing regional and sub-regional frameworks such as APEC, ASEAN, ACMECS and Mekong-US Partnership.
The Thailand – U.S. Strategic Dialogue is a dialogue framework between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and the U.S. Department of State and serves as a key platform to discuss strategic directions in enhancing Thailand – U.S. long-standing relations. The 6th Thailand-US Strategic Dialogue was held in July 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/thussdeng?cate=5d5bcb4e15e39c306000683e
