Secretary Antony J. Blinken and Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara Before Their Meeting

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone, and Mr. Minister, welcome.  It’s wonderful to have you here.  We celebrate 190 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and the United States, and a longstanding alliance.  But even as we celebrate the past, we are relentlessly focused on today and the future, a present and a future that join us together in our alliance, in a determination, I believe, to strengthen it even more, to work together on the many challenges we face, whether it’s in the region or even globally when it comes to security, when it comes to climate change, when it comes also to deepening our own economic relationship.  And so much of the work that you’ve done in that area I look forward to discussing.

So we have – we have a number of challenges, mutual challenges before us, but we’re grateful to have a partnership, to have an alliance that can effectively address them together.  So welcome.

MINISTER BAHIDDHA-NUKARA:  I’m very delighted to be here in Washington and at the invitation of the Secretary.  My visit underscores our desire to reinvigorate our strategic alliance and partnership.  As a democratically elected government, we firmly believe that our shared values of democratic principles, human rights, and human security will play a pivotal role in our partnership and bind our countries even closer together.

The Thai Government is focusing on promoting Thailand’s economic growth and transiting its economy to its green and digital economy, which will open up new opportunities to enhance our economic partnership.  We also seek to enhance our longstanding security ties with the U.S.  At the regional level, we see ourselves as an important anchor for your engagement in the region to advance common peace, security, and prosperity.  In this regard, we hope to continue working closely with the U.S., including through ASEAN, development of Mekong subregion, and the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, IPEF.

Thank you, Excellency.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you, Minister.  Thanks, everyone.