The Rt. Hon. Liz Truss MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, paid an official visit to Thailand as guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand during 8–10 November 2021 to strengthen the strategic partnership between Thailand and the UK.

This official visit is Foreign Secretary Truss’s first visit to Southeast Asia (Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia) after being appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the UK on 15 September 2021. On this occasion, Foreign Secretary Truss paid a courtesy call on H.E. Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister, and had bilateral meetings with H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Gen. Supoj Malaniyom, Secretary-General of the National Security Council respectively.

During the bilateral meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, both sides agreed that exchanges of high-level visits should take place regularly, particularly at the heads of government level. In this connection, the UK side extended an invitation to the Thai side to attend the 4th Strategic Dialogue (SD) between Thailand and the UK, to be hosted by the UK in the first half of 2022. In addition, both sides also discussed various cooperation under the strategic partnership, including: (1) On trade and investment, Thailand will host the 1st meeting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) between Thailand and the UK in February 2022 at ministerial level (Commerce/Trade), paving the way for discussions towards a Thailand-UK Free Trade Agreement. Furthermore, Thailand invited the UK to invest in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC);
(2) On security, both sides agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Defense Cooperation, which has already been negotiated, at the earliest opportunity and enhance cooperation on cybersecurity; (3) On the ease of travelling between the peoples, the UK has eased its travel measures related to approved COVID-19 vaccines, effective on 22 November 2021 onwards, which would allow fully vaccinated travellers with Sinovac or Sinopharm vaccines to enter the UK without required quarantine. The Thai side also proposed to negotiate an agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic passport holders between Thailand and the UK to facilitate travelling between officials; (4) The UK inquired about the possibility that Thailand would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by the end of this year to which the Thai side stated that the matter was still under consideration; (5) Both sides also exchanged views on various issues in the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific regions, including Myanmar, ASEAN, and the trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US (AUKUS).

In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs hosted a luncheon in honour of visiting Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

As for other activities during the official trip to Thailand, Foreign Secretary Truss also participated in a Roundtable: Clean and Green Initiative – Financing Infrastructure for Recovery and Growth in Thailand, attended by senior representatives of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office of Thailand, top executives from leading banks such as Standard Chartered, HSBC, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and CEOs from the private sector, namely the PTT Group, TCC Group, and WHA Group. Also, the Foreign Secretary presided over the inauguration of the new British Embassy in Bangkok, visited Triumph Motorcycle (Thailand) at Amata City in Chonburi Province, and in her capacity as Minister for Women and Equalities, presented an award to Ms. Busayapa Srisompong, the first Thai woman to receive the Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia, in “Professions” category, and now running in its fourth year, at a reception held at the British Ambassador’s Residence.