Japan-Thailand Relations
Japan-Thailand Foreign Ministers' Meeting
July 17, 2017
On July 17 (Monday), Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs, who was visiting New York to attend the United Nations High Level Political Forum, held a Foreign Ministers' Meeting with H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
- At the beginning of the meeting, Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude for the hospitality extended by Thailand when Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan paid a visit to Thailand in March this year. Then he noted that this year is the 130th anniversary of Japan-Thailand diplomatic relations, and stated that he was pleased that a variety of exchanges and events were being held with great enthusiasm, that he wanted the event commemorating the 130th anniversary of Japan-Thailand diplomatic relations planned for September to be held lavishly, and that Japan wanted to cooperate and collaborate with Thailand for the development of the Mekong region. In response, Minister Don said that the people of Thailand were deeply impressed by the visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan to Thailand, and that he wanted to work together with Japan to make the 130th anniversary of Japan-Thailand diplomatic relations a great success.
- Minister Kishida stated that Japan was ready to cooperate on the formulation of the CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand) master plan promoted by Thailand and infrastructure development, and Minister Don stated that he was pleased that triangular cooperation between Japan, Thailand, and Myanmar in agriculture, fisheries and other fields was progressing, and that he believed this was in harmony with the objectives of the SDGs as well. Furthermore, the two foreign ministers shared the view on the importance of the cooperation between the three countries of Japan, Thailand, and Myanmar for the development of the Dawei SEZ. Moreover, the two foreign ministers shared the viewto strengthen cooperation in the security and defense areas.
- The two ministers exchanged their views regarding the regional situation , and confirmed that they would cooperate in the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers' Meetings next month. In particular, regarding the issue of North Korea, Minister Kishida stated that North Korea represented a new level of threat, that the launch of an ICBM-grade ballistic missile on July 4 is a threat to the entire region, that strengthening of pressure for the denuclearization of North Korea is necessary, that the strengthening of restrictions by Southeast Asian countries is important, that the abductions issue is the most important issue for Japan, and that Japan wished to cooperate toward an early resolution of the issue. In response, Minister Don explained that Thailand is strictly complying with Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea, and as a part of that process is taking measures with content that exceeds the requirements of the resolutions. Furthermore, regarding the issue of North Korea the two ministers shared the view that the strengthening of pressure is important now.