On 11 March 2016, Mr. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of  Foreign Affairs, attended the 6^th Japan - Thailand Political Partnership Consultations (JTPPC)  which he co-chaired with Mr. Shinsuke Sugiyama, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Both sides discussed intensively and extensively on bilateral issues including exchange of high - level visits; cooperation in trade and investment, particularly in agriculture and infrastructure development; and the cooperation in defense and security. They also agreed to work more closely beyond the bilateral framework to jointly develop the Mekong Sub-region as well as ASEAN. Both sides also exchanged views on regional and international issues such as cooperation in ASEAN and UN as well as issues on the South China Sea and Korean Peninsula.

On this occasion, the Permanent Secretary also paid courtesy calls on Mr. Seiji Kihara, State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Mr. Hiroto Izumi, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Japan. He also met with Mr. Akitaka Saiki, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. Both sides took note with satisfaction of the excellent relations that Thailand and Japan have long enjoyed and pledged to work together to promote even better ties through exchanges of visits at all levels.

The JTPPC is an annual dialogue for senior officials from both Ministries of Foreign Affairs to meet and discuss on wide-ranging issues of mutual interest. Both sides also look forward to jointly organizing activities to commemorate the 130^th anniversary of Thailand - Japan diplomatic relations in 2017.