On 1 August 2018, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, attended the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting – AMM and the Signing Ceremonies of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by the Argentine Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers expressed their condolences on the dam collapse caused by recent floods in the Southern provinces of Lao PDR causing loss of lives and property, and the earthquake in Lombok, Indonesia. The Ministers also congratulated Thailand on the successful rescue of the Wild Boar Academy Football team members from Tham Luang cave in Chiangrai province, for which Thailand expressed its appreciation for the assistance and the offers from ASEAN Member States (AMS). The Meeting reiterated that this recent increase in natural disasters in AMS reflected the need for rapid response and agreed in principle to the proposal of the ASEAN Secretary-General to strengthen the AHA Centre in Jakarta. Moreover, the Meeting stressed the importance of the finalisation of RCEP negotiation within this year.

 

On this occasion, Thailand reported on the progress of the work as ASEAN’s Coordinator on Sustainable Development, especially (1) Progress Report on Promoting Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 2018 (2) the Mapping of South - South Cooperation Projects in ASEAN, which Thailand planned to launch at a sideline of UNGA in New York in September 2018 (3) the proposal to establish ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD) in Thailand in 2019 and (4) the proposal to establish a network of ASEAN Associations in each AMS to help the governments in promoting public awareness on ASEAN to the people. The Meeting adopted the Joint Communique of the 51st ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also attend the Signing Ceremonies of the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) by the Argentine Republic and the Islamic Republic of Iran. The TAC commits the signatories to principles such as (1) mutual respect for sovereignty, equality, and territorial integrity (2) non-interference (3) peaceful settlement of disputes (4) renunciation of the threat or use of force and (5) effective cooperation among parties. The AMS have invited interested countries from outside the region to accede to the treaty in order to promote trust and confidence among parties. 

 

On 3 August 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend the Post-Ministerial Meetings (PMC) with India, Canada, Republic of Korea, Australia, the United States, the 8th Mekong – Republic of Korea Ministerial Meeting, the 11th Mekong – Japan Ministerial Meeting, and the 11th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) Ministerial Meeting. The Minister of Foreign Affairs will also co-chair the Meeting with the European Union and will assume the role of Country Coordinator for ASEAN – India Dialogue Relations from 2018 – 2021.