H.E. Mr. Kazuyuki Nakane, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, paid a visit to Thailand on 23 – 24 August, 2017 to attend the 4th Meeting of Joint Committee under Japan – Thailand Economic Partnership (JC-JTEPA) meeting and the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Forum. 

On 23 August 2017, H.E. Mr. Nakane held bilateral talks with H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. The two Ministers exchanged views on a range of bilateral, regional and international issues including 1) both sides congratulate the occasion of the 130th anniversary of Japan – Thailand diplomatic relations 2) Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand welcomed Japan’s consent to conduct a comprehensive study on the East West Economic Corridor to link India – Thailand – Laos PDR – and Vietnam 3) State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan congratulated and showed appreciation to Thailand for hosting the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Southeast Asia Regional Forum and vowed to support Thailand in obtaining OECD’s membership and 4) both sides discussed and exchanged views on the South China Sea and the situation in the Korean Peninsula.

After the bilateral talks, both Ministers co-chaired the 4th JC-JTEPA meeting to evaluate the implementation and operation of JTEPA during the past 6 years
since the 3rd JC - JTEPA meeting, which was held in 2011 in Tokyo. This year also marks the 10th anniversary of JTEPA, which is the year when, according to
the Agreement, both parties are to conduct a general review of the implementation and operation of the Agreement. In this regard, the two sides agreed to establish a mechanism to carry out the general review, which is expected to take one year to complete. On the same evening, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand hosted an official dinner in honour of the State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan at Ministry of Foreign Affairs.