9th Japan-Thailand Political Partnership Consultation

On June 24, 2024, Ms. Eksiri Pintaruchi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, co-chaired the 9th Japan-Thailand Political Partnership Consultations (JTPPC) with His Excellency Mr. Funakoshi Takehiro, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The two sides exchanged views on political, economic and people-to-people relations between Thailand and Japan, as well as the geopolitical situation in the region. They also discussed the future direction of Thailand-Japan cooperation based on the comprehensive strategic partnership, as the two countries will mark another milestone in 2027, when the 140th anniversary of their diplomatic ties approaches.

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They also reviewed cooperation under the Five-Year Joint Action Plan on Thailand-Japan Strategic Economic Partnership (2022-2026), which has enabled mutual benefits in terms of trade, investment, energy transition, education and labour; in particular, the development of engineers through the KOSEN system.

Both sides expressed support for further discussions on these issues at the upcoming 15th meeting of the High-Level Joint Committee (HLJC), which Japan will host later this year. Japan also reiterated its support for Thailand’s application to join the OECD, as it would create a favourable environment for Japanese investment in Thailand.

They also discussed the future direction of cooperation between Thailand and Japan based on the comprehensive strategic partnership.

Thailand and Japan acknowledged the importance of people-to-people exchanges, especially in the tourism sector, which is recovering and continues to generate economic value. Both nations acknowledged the economic benefits of mutual visa waiver measures, while admitting that the issue of overruns still needs to be addressed.

On political and security cooperation, both sides discussed the exchange of high-level visits, enhancing political, military and security cooperation to address various challenges, and jointly promoting sustainable peace and security in the region.

Regarding the situation in Myanmar, Japan welcomed Thailand’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the Myanmar population along the border.

They also discussed the progress of negotiations and the establishment of several treaties to facilitate social security benefits and mutual improvement of legal assistance in criminal matters.