On 30 June 2013 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, attended the 6th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 3rd Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

At the 6th Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong expressed his appreciation to Japan for its significant role in the development of the Mekong region over the past five years. He reaffirmed Thailand’s readiness to continue working with Japan to enhance connectivity in the region, especially in the form of trilateral cooperation. To promote economic development in Myanmar and in the region as a whole, he looked forward to Japan’s involvement in the Dawei Project. He asked Japan to help build a skilled Mekong workforce which would contribute to the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community, making the Mekong countries part of the ASEAN “Single Production Base”.  Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong also stressed the importance of environment and social issues.  He urged Japan to work with the Mekong countries to develop an effective region-wide weather forecasting system in order to mitigate the impact of climate-based calamities.  Thailand and Japan will co-host the Second Green Mekong Forum in Bangkok later this year to allow participants to share experience on environmental management.

At the 3rd Mekong-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong invited the ROK to cooperate with the Mekong countries in the area of agricultural development, in particular technology on crop silos to ensure quality storage of agricultural produce. He asked the ROK to partner with Thailand on enhancing regional connectivity, including the improvement of Road Number 48 linking Thailand and Cambodia. He also expressed his appreciation for the ROK’s commitment to establish the “Mekong-ROK Cooperation Fund” and hoped that the Fund could be operable in the near future to facilitate the Mekong-ROK countries in implementing new projects.