On 1 May 2016, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, held a bilateral talk with H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, upon his official visit to Thailand.

During the meeting, the Thai side expressed condolences to those affected by the earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture of Japan last month, which the Royal Thai Government has provided 10 million yen as initial assistance to Japan. The Thai Foreign Minister also updated his Japanese counterpart on the progress of the roadmap for democracy of Thailand, on which the Japanese side expressed understanding and readiness to support Thailand.

On economic issues, both sides exchanged views on economic cooperation which has made substantive progress, particularly, rail cooperation on the Bangkok-Chiang Mai High Speed Rail and dual-track rail on the Southern Economic Corridor, for which the feasibility studies are due by the end of the year. Both Ministers also welcomed positive development on agricultural cooperation, which both sides recently granted permission for each other to import additional types of agricultural products.

In addition, both Foreign Ministers discussed extensively on cooperation at the multilateral level and on international issues. Both sides expressed readiness to cooperate on tackling international security challenges such as terrorism, nuclear proliferation, and maritime security. The Thai side commended Japan for her role as G7 Chair as well as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Thailand, as Chair of G77, expressed desire to work with Japan to improve the well-being of the people in developing countries, and enhance cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. 

Both sides also exchanged views on the situation in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the South China Sea. The Thai side reaffirmed that Thailand would support the international community to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue through diplomacy and peaceful negotiations. On the South China Sea, Thailand urged all concerned parties to exercise restraints and approach the problem diplomatically.                                           

Following the meeting, both Foreign Ministers signed the Memorandum of Intent (MOI) between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of Japan on Deepening the Cooperation in Agriculture and its Related Areas. Under the MOI, both sides will establish a High-Level Cooperation Dialogue between their agriculture ministries to drive forward cooperation, specifically on human resources development, sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS), rubber industry, water management and irrigation, and ICT technology in agriculture.

H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, is paying a 2-day visit to Thailand as guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on H.E. General Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister, on 2 May 2016.