On 12 - 13 May 2022, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha (Ret.), Prime Minister of Thailand, attended the ASEAN-U.S. Special Summit in Washington, D.C. to commemorate the 45^th Anniversary of the ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue Relations at the invitation of President Joe Biden.

The Prime Minister and his ASEAN counterparts had the opportunity to engage with the U.S. President, the U.S. Vice President, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, high-level officials from economic and climate agencies, as well as leaders from U.S. business sector.  

During those meetings, the Prime Minister underlined the importance of enduring peace and resilience, as well as the need to enhance the region’s readiness to cope with changes while advancing towards the New Normal era. He therefore pushed forward three priorities, namely (1) promoting U.S.’ constructive engagements with ASEAN and other key players in the region to create an environment of mutual trust conducive to the post-COVID-19 recovery, while urging for a shift of focus towards humanitarian consideration to alleviate the ramifications of unrest situations around the world; (2) accelerating economic recovery and strengthening a resilient supply chain whereas he invited U.S. businesses to invest in and develop high technology sector such as electric vehicles (EV); and (3) enhancing sustainable development through transition to clean energy and low-carbon society, and working together to take forward new development approaches such as the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model.

At the same time, President Biden and officials from various sectors reaffirmed U.S.’ support for ASEAN Centrality and its intent to promote cooperation under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and the U.S.’ Indo-Pacific Strategy. The U.S. also announced over USD 150 million in initiatives to expand engagements with ASEAN in the areas of climate action, education, maritime cooperation, and health security.

Both sides also adopted the Joint Vision Statement, which set out ASEAN and the U.S.’ commitment to advancing relations towards establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the future. On this occasion, President Biden also announced the nomination of Mr. Johannes Abebe Abraham as the U.S. Ambassador to ASEAN.