The Prime Minister of Thailand participated in the 18th ASEAN-India Summit and underlined the need to “look beyond” the current pandemic in advancing cooperation on vaccine and medicine equity, connectivity, and sustainable development. Prime Minister also highlighted security convergence between ASEAN and India as a key factor to promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

On 28 October 2021, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, attended the 18th ASEAN-India Summit via video conference. The Meeting was also attended by H.E. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

The Meeting discussed ways forward for advancing the ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership to enhance COVID-19 recovery efforts, including in the areas of trade and investment, supply chain resilience, maritime cooperation and Blue Economy, ICT and digital development and cybersecurity, as well as people-to-people ties. The Meeting also announced the Year 2022 as the “ASEAN-India Friendship Year” to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the ASEAN-India relations.

Moreover, the Meeting also exchanged views on international and regional issues, where India reiterated its continued support for ASEAN centrality and practical cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). To this end, the Meeting adopted the ASEAN-India Joint Statement on Cooperation on the AOIP for Peace, Stability, and Prosperity in the Region as a basis in driving forward win-win cooperation in the future.

The Prime Minister of Thailand underlined the need to rebuild a resilient and sustainable future for the next generations by “looking beyond” the current situation to further strengthen cooperation in three areas, including (1) promoting equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and medicines through collaboration on joint research, development, and manufacturing of medicines and vaccines, as well as coordinating cooperation in vaccines and medical supplies reserve to enhance the capacity of public health system in the long run; (2) enhancing connectivity to support a robust economic recovery, particularly through the timely completion of the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway Project and its possible extension to Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam, exploring new trade opportunities in the areas such as organic pharmaceutical products and traditional medicines, and reviving tourism sector; and (3) advancing sustainable development partnership with the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model as an approach to support the region’s COVID-19 recovery efforts. Furthermore, the Prime Minister also emphasised that security convergence between ASEAN and India is a key factor in promoting peace and stability in the wider Asia-Pacific region.

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