MELBOURNE – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a news briefing of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations, which Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara attended on March 6, 2024.
The Special Summit adopted two key outcome documents 1) ASEAN-Australia Leaders’Vision Statement – Partners for Peace and Prosperity and 2) Melbourne Declaration – Partnership for the Future to guide future cooperation under their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The Thai Prime Minister proposed deeper cooperation in areas such as seamless connectivity to facilitate trade and investment, development under the green agenda, food and health security, and climate change mitigation. He shared Thailand’s concerns on geopolitical and regional security issues as well as Thailand’s role on humanitarian assistance in Myanmar.
The Prime Minister also reiterated the call for the cessation of violence in the Middle-East and the release of all hostages, including Thai hostages in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement on the situation between Israel and Gaza, as follows:
Thailand has been following, with deep concern, the ongoing situation in Israel – Gaza, as well as the attacks in Rafah, and the most recent incident in Northern Israel which has resulted in the loss of innocent lives, including injuries of 5 Thai workers.
These incidents only serve to remind us of the urgency to reach an agreement on the immediate cessation of hostilities, and the need to achieve a durable peace based on the two-State solution.
At this crucial juncture, Thailand is deeply concerned with the stalled ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and calls on all sides to exert their full efforts to move forward the talks, and reach a humanitarian ceasefire, allowing greater access for humanitarian assistance to alleviate the plight of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Thailand sincerely hopes that the ceasefire can be reached before the holy month of Ramadan, and will lead to the release of all the hostages including Thai nationals.
