H.E. Mrs. Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, will co-chair the 22nd ASEAN – India Senior Officials’ Meeting via videoconference with H.E. Mrs. Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs of India, on 16 July 2020. Thailand is the currently serving as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations (2018-2021).

 

The ASEAN–India Senior Officials’ Meeting is an annual meeting to help guide ASEAN–India cooperation in all dimensions, such as political-security, economic, trade and investment, social-cultural, as well as enhancing people-to-people connectivity. On this occasion, ASEAN and India will also exchange information on COVID-19 responses, including cooperation on public health, development of medicines and vaccines, provision of assistance to one another’s nationals during public health emergency situations and mitigating the socio-economic impacts on the people and the business sector of both sides. The Meeting will also discuss the new ASEAN – India Plan of Action (2021-2025) which will guide cooperation between ASEAN and India in the next five years, in order to prepare for the post COVID-19 era.

 

This Meeting will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the important role of India as a Strategic Partner of ASEAN in promoting stability, security and prosperity in the region, especially during a time when all countries in the region are facing challenges and uncertainties caused by COVID-19. It will also reflect Thailand’s leading role in promoting connectivity between countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).