On 22 November 2021, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, had an introductory telephone conversation with H.E. Mr. Kishida Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, during which both sides reaffirmed their determination to work together to strengthen the strategic partnership between Thailand and Japan on the occasion of the 135th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Japan in 2022 and the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Relations in 2023. Prime Minister Prayut also congratulated
Prime Minister Kishida and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on the victory in the general elections on 31 October 2021.

Prime Minister Prayut reaffirmed the importance of promoting cooperation between Thailand and Japan through the synergizing of Thailand’s
Bio-Circular-Green Economy (BCG) Model and Japan’s Green Growth Strategy and the drafting of the 5-Year Joint Strategic Plan on Thailand–Japan Strategic Economic Partnership with the view to elevating and setting future directions for economic cooperation in potential areas of mutual interests between the two countries.

Both sides exchanged views on cooperation on COVID-19 vaccine, the easing of travel restrictions as the COVID-19 situation improves. They also discussed cooperation to promote linkages between Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) in areas of mutual benefits into concrete results, cooperation in the Mekong sub-region under the Mekong-Japan cooperation and ACMECS, cooperation under international and regional economic frameworks and agreements such as CPTPP, RCEP and APEC, as well as regional issues.

In this regard, both leaders were pleased with the close cooperation between the two countries at all levels. The Prime Minister of Thailand extended an invitation to the Prime Minister of Japan to pay an official visit to Thailand to discuss ways in steering Thailand-Japan relations towards the future.