On 23 January 2023, H.E. Mr. Sarun Charoensuwan, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, chaired an inter-agency meeting to discuss Thailand’s way forward for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

The meeting took note of developments under IPEF since its launch on 23 May 2022 and deliberated on how to drive Thailand’s interest in IPEF under all four Pillars, namely Trade, Supply Chain, Clean Economy and Fair Economy. The meeting discussed on establishing an IPEF Taskforce, which will comprise of relevant government agencies, to ensure that Thailand’s interests and position will be promoted and carried out in an effective, inclusive, and sustainable manner. In addition, the meeting exchanged views on potential collaborative initiatives or projects that Thailand may propose with other partner countries to achieve tangible benefits of IPEF.

In the afternoon, H.E. Mrs. Phantipha Iamsudha Ekarohit, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs also convened a stakeholders’ meeting with government agencies, private sectors, academia, civil society and media to gather various viewpoints on IPEF’s cooperation, which will contribute to preparing and developing relevant negotiation framework and position to ensure Thailand’s inclusive and tangible benefits from its IPEF’s participation.