On 13 March 2023, Ms. Busadee Santipitaks, Acting Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, met with Ms. Marisa Lago, U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, for a bilateral meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the Under Secretary’s official visit to Thailand to take part in the 2023 Trade Winds, organised by the U.S. Department of Commerce at the Avani+ Riverside Hotel, Bangkok, from 13 - 15 March 2023.

On this occasion, the Acting Permanent Secretary congratulated the Under Secretary on the successful organisation of this year’s Trade Winds, and thanked the U.S. Department of Commerce for choosing Thailand and Southeast Asia as the destination for Trade Winds. This year’s Trade Winds comes at a particularly timely moment, dovetailing with the growing and dynamic Thailand–U.S. economic and trade partnership, the 190th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between both nations, and the handover from Thailand’s APEC host year to that of the United States. Under Secretary Lago reiterated that the decision to organise the 2023 Trade Winds in Thailand reflected the importance to which the U.S. Government attached in playing a constructive role in the Indo-Pacific, the interest of of the U.S. private sector in trade and investment opportunities in Thailand, and the ease of travel and event organisation in Thailand. Both sides further discussed several issues of mutual interest, including cooperation under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), the elevation of bilateral trade and investment, promotion of supply chain resilience, women’s empowerment, and the advancement of the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy. Later on, the Acting Permanent Secretary, as the representative of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the reception in honour of the 2023 Trade Winds and the 190th Anniversary of Thai–U.S. Diplomatic Relations at the Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort on 14 March 2023.

Trade Winds is the U.S. Department of Commerce’s largest annual trade mission, with the aim to promote and facilitate trade and investment for U.S. businesses in foreign markets, build networks with local governments and private sector actors, and to garner in-depth information on business opportunities from government and private sector experts. This year’s mission was held in Southeast Asia, with Thailand as the main hub for the business development forum and meetings with government and private sector representatives. Other mission stops for additional business matchmaking activities were held in Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This year’s Trade Winds was attended by over 200 people from over 100 U.S. businesses from a variety of sectors, including the digital economy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, energy, manufacturing, and financial services.