On 9 September 2020, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in the 21st ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting via videoconference. The Meeting was chaired by H.E. Mr. Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam, and also attended by the Foreign Ministers of ASEAN Member States and the Plus Three countries, including China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and the Secretary General of ASEAN.

The Meeting stressed the importance of the APT framework as a main vehicle to promote cooperation in East Asia and discussed how to enhance cooperation in strengthening resilience to enable the region to cope with future challenges. The Meeting welcomed contributions from the Plus Three countries to the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund. It also emphasised the role of APT cooperation in mitigating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic and the need to enhance cooperation towards regional recovery. In this regard, Thailand highlighted the importance of both health security and economic security, through the utilisation of the existing ASEAN and APT mechanisms to the fullest potential. Thailand proposed to organise a regional workshop by the end of this year or early next year to explore ways forward on the initiative to “connect the connectivities”, already agreed by the APT Leaders last year when Thailand was ASEAN Chair.