On 6-7 March 2023, His Excellency Mr. Sarun Charoensuwan, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (ASEAN SOM) and Related Meetings, namely the 15th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group (ACCWG) on Timor-Leste’s ASEAN Membership Application, ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials’ Meeting (APT SOM), and the 35th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue, at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.

The ASEAN SOM Meeting discussed priorities and initiatives under Indonesia’s Chairmanship theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” as well as followed up on the discussions of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat and the 32nd ASEAN Coordinating Council earlier in February 2023. The Meeting also discussed external relations’ cooperation. On this occasion, PS Sarun reaffirmed Thailand’s full support to Indonesia’s Chairmanship and its deliverables, particularly Thailand’s readiness to contribute to strengthen cooperation in addressing cross-border crime caused by the misuse of technology. As Country Coordinator of ASEAN-Japan relations, he also briefed the meeting on the preparation for the upcoming ASEAN-Japan Forum in Tokyo and the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit to mark the 50th Year of Friendship and Cooperation.

The Meeting of the ACCWG on Timor-Leste's Membership in ASEAN discussed the way forward on enhancing Timor-Leste's capacity and readiness towards ASEAN membership, including the development of the Roadmap for Timor-Leste’s Membership in ASEAN. In this regard, Thailand reiterated its continued commitment to providing capacity-building programmes and relevant support for Timor-Leste to help implementing the Roadmap once adopted.

At the APT SOM, the Permanent Secretary reaffirmed Thailand’s cooperation on non-traditional security issues such as cybersecurity, climate change as well as food and energy security under the APT as a main regional framework in addressing common challenges.

At the 35th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue, the Permanent Secretary led a discussion on “Regional Health Resilience”, highlighting Thailand’s support for universal access to healthcare and vaccines, as well as the need to deepen cooperation on research and development of essential medicines and medical supplies. He also encouraged cooperation between ASEAN and the U.S. through the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), the Secretariat Office of which is located in Bangkok, Thailand.