BANGKOK – The Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha held a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as part of the 35th ASEAN Summit and related meetings.
The Thai Prime Minister welcomed the Japanese Premier on his first visit in Thailand in 6 years, and commended the realization of the joint statement from the 22nd ASEAN-Japan summit on connectivity, expressing ASEAN’s desire to work with Japan on ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific, especially on smart city development, access to financial services, human resources development and environmental protection, including marine debris management.
Prime Minsiter Prayut Chan-o-cha asked Japan to help promote connectivity, human resource development and environmental protection, praising Japan’s role as the chairman of the G20 on preparing outcome documentation, especially the G20 Principles on Quality Infrastructure Investment which promotes strategic connections and the integration of initiatives on regional and sub-regional connectivity.
The Japanese Prime Minister praised Thailand’s role as the chairman of ASEAN, especially on the Thai Prime Minister’s role in pushing forward the realization of important resolutions on regional development. He has pledged that Japan will continue cooperating with Thailand closely to address regional challenges.
Both Prime Ministers agreed on cooperation to promote SMEs and Startups with the signing of 6 Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between both countries’ large companies and startups on 2 November 2019, promoting business cooperation and the development of innovations and modern technologies in Thailand. This initiative complies with the Thai government’s innovative startups promotion campaign, under the InnoSpace (Thailand) project.
Both countries have discussed the progress of the Memorandum on Japan-Thailand Partnership Program Phase 3, which was signed on 31 October 2019, to extend existing cooperation to help third countries, especially in the Mekong sub-region, using experience, expertise and proven practices from Thailand and Japan.
The two Prime Ministers then discussed key regional cooperation, including the ASEAN and G20 frameworks, where Thailand and Japan are respective chairs this year, the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS), the Mekong-Japan Cooperation, as well as S-Curve industries and infrastructure development in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State and sport and cultural cooperation between Thailand and Japan.
The Thai Prime Minister has also wished Japan a successful hosting of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics.
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