H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, welcomed the official visit to Thailand of the Honorable Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State, as guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 9 – 10 July 2022. The visit reaffirms the long-standing alliance and strategic partnership between Thailand and the United States, providing opportunities to enhance the relations and advancing the multi-faceted cooperation based on shared values and common interests.

On 10 July 2022, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs held a bilateral meeting and hosted a luncheon in honour of the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs also led the U.S. Secretary of State to pay a courtesy call on H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand at the Government House in the afternoon.

During the bilateral meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of State, both sides emphasized the importance of the long-standing alliance which is mutually beneficial as well as has contributed to the interest of the region.
They also discussed ways to further promote multi-dimensional areas of cooperation, particularly in enhancing economic engagement and supply chain resilience, addressing the climate change, prevention and suppression of trafficking in person, promoting global health, as well as strengthening their engagement on the occasion of 190th anniversary of Thailand – U.S. diplomatic relations in 2023.

Moreover, both sides exchanged views on important global and regional developments, including the situations in Ukraine, in Myanmar, and in the Korean Peninsula. They also deliberated on promoting regional cooperation through the existing mechanisms, such as ASEAN – U.S. cooperation and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), initiated by the U.S., as well as other cooperation under APEC on which both sides are committed to working closely, particularly on the transition between Thailand’s Host Year this year to the U.S.’ in 2023.

During this visit, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of State signed two important outcome documents, namely; (1) Thailand – U.S. Communique on Strategic Alliance and Partnership, which sets common strategic goals in various dimensions and ways to drive the Thailand -U.S. relations and cooperation based upon common interests. This includes revitalizing the economy toward full recovery from COVID-19, addressing climate change, cooperating on security and law enforcement, cybersecurity and technology collaboration, promoting regional cooperation through utilizing existing regional mechanisms, such as ASEAN, APEC, ACMECS and Mekong – U.S. Partnership, advancing global health, and promoting people-to-people ties; (2) MOU on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience, which aims to promote collaboration to strengthen supply chain and address disruptions to production, trade, and transportation especially in critical industries. This will also help enhance trade and investment opportunities and promote the U.S. investment in Thailand, particularly in the targeted industries, such as electric vehicles (EV) and high-capacity batteries, pharmaceuticals, and industries that help promote the BCG Economy Model.

This visit is the first official visit of the U.S. Secretary of State after assuming the position in January 2021. The last meeting between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. Secretary of State took place on 12 May 2022 in Washington, D.C.