On 4-6 March 2024, H.E. Mr. Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, joined the Thai delegation led by H.E. Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, to attend the Special Summit to Commemorate the 50^th Anniversary of ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations in Melbourne, Australia. The Special Summit was attended by leaders of ASEAN and Australia with leader of Timor Leste attended as an observer. During the Special Summit, Thailand highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation on promoting seamless connectivity, green agenda, as well as regional peace and stability.

At the Leaders’ Plenary, the leaders of ASEAN and Australia exchanged views on how ASEAN and Australia could work together to further strengthen their cooperation,  especially in the area of economic cooperation. The Prime Minister pushed for seamless connectivity in all dimensions, particularly in areas of trade and investment, infrastructure development including the Landbridge project and seaports, digital connectivity, people-to-people linkages, and creative industries. Thailand welcomed Australia’s newly announced initiatives, including the establishment of the ASEAN-Australia Centre in Canberra, the New Australia Scholarship Programme, visa facilitation for businesses and frequent travellers, and the extension of the Mekong Partnership-Economic Resilience Fund and the Partnership for Infrastructure Initiative, all of which will help further strengthen cooperation between ASEAN and Australia in a concrete manner.

At the Leaders’ Retreat,  the leaders of ASEAN and Australia exchanged views on regional and international issues, the Prime Minister also reiterated Thailand’s desire for greater cooperation to promote a shared vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, rules-based, and inclusive, while calling for Australia’s continued support for ASEAN-led mechanisms. The Prime Minister also reiterated Thailand’s positions on a number of regional and international issues that affect Thailand and the region as a whole. These include Thailand’s Initiative along the Thai-Myanmar Border to scale up delivery of humanitarian assistance as part of ASEAN’s efforts to advance the 5-Point Consensus. He also raised Thailand’s concern about humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for cessation of violence and the immediate release of all hostages including the Thai nationals. He also pushed forward green agenda through investments in green transitions, including solutions to haze and PM2.5, promoting EV ecosystem, green technology, clean energy transition, and environment-friendly economy. 

The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister also participated in bilateral meetings between the Prime Minister and the Honourable Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia and the Right Honourable Christopher Luxon, the Prime Minister of New Zealand. The discussions focused on ways to deepen cooperation on trade and investment, innovation, and agricultural technology, as well as promote people-to-people connectivity through education and tourism. H.E. Mr. Maris Sangiampongsa, Advisor to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand also joined the bilateral meetings between the Prime Minister and H.E. Mr. Sonexay Siphandone, the Prime Minister of the Lao PDR, and Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Issues discussed include cooperation to enhance connectivity in areas of trade, tourism, transport and logistics. Thailand and the Lao PDR also discussed how to promote joint efforts to address transboundary haze.

In addition, during this visit, the Prime Minister also had meetings with executives of 6 leading Australian companies in Thailand’s targeted industries, namely Fortescue (mining and green energy), Linfox (transport and logistics), Redflow (zinc-bromine sustainable energy storage), ANCA (software development), NextDC (data solutions), and Hesta (superannuation fund). During these meetings, the Prime Minister invited the aforementioned companies to come to invest or increase their presence in Thailand in areas of their focused industries and consider Thailand as their investment hub. He also highlighted Thailand’s Landbridge Project as one of their potential investment projects.