H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, will attend the 54th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Related Meetings on 2-7 August 2021 via videoconference. Twenty-seven Foreign Ministers from ASEAN Member States and external partners are expected to participate.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers will discuss ways to promote ASEAN Community building that is people-centred and people-oriented, prepared for future challenges and opportunities, and prospering together, under the theme “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper” and priorities under Brunei Darussalam’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year. In engaging with external partners, ASEAN Foreign Ministers will reiterate the importance of ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional architecture amidst the uncertainties of regional security dynamics and other emerging challenges, especially those arisen from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers will discuss ASEAN’s collective efforts to address regional and global challenges, including the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus agreed by ASEAN Leaders on 24 April 2021, and make preparations for the upcoming 38th and 39th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in October 2021. They will also discuss and exchange views with external partners on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and other important regional and international issues of common concern. This year, Thailand will handover ASEAN-India Country Coordinatorship to Singapore, and will take over ASEAN-Japan Coordinatorship from Viet Nam.

The Deputy Prime Minister will take this opportunity to promote cooperation on the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG) as well as the comprehensive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to support multilateralism and regional cooperation to address the regional and global challenges.