On 8 November 2021, the U.S. Congressional Delegation led by the Honorable Amerish Bera (Democrat-California), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation, U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, together with the Honorable Derek Kilmer (Democrat-Washington), the Honorable Juan Vargas (Democrat-California) and the Honorable Abigail Spanberger (Democrat-Virginia), paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, during their visit to Thailand on 7-11 November 2021.

During the discussion, both sides underscored the importance of the long-standing and close Thailand-U.S. alliance and exchanged views on ways to enhance cooperation on the issues of shared priorities, such as climate change, economic and investment cooperation, particularly in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), and the post COVID-19 economic recovery. Both sides also discussed key regional developments, including the situation in Myanmar and the role of ASEAN.

On this occasion, the U.S. side commended Thailand’s commitment to addressing the climate change challenges in every way and means possible as reflected by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s statement at the 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.
The delegation also appreciated Thailand’s strong and continued efforts in tackling the human trafficking issue as well as the constructive role in providing humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar people. The U.S. side reiterated their support on Thailand’s active roles on those issues which are also the U.S.’ priorities. After the courtesy call on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the U.S. Congressional Delegation paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha at the Government House.

This visit to Thailand is the first visit by the U.S. Congressional Delegation since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided an opportunity to further enhance engagement and cooperation with the U.S. legislative branch on the issues of mutual interest for both countries.