Prime Minister Kishida expressed his willingness to strengthen Japan-Thailand economic ties for the future by promoting cooperation in the areas of economic security including supply chain resilience, and cooperating in the areas of decarbonization through the "Asia Energy Transition Initiative", digital including 5G, smart cities, and healthcare. He also introduced the “Asia Zero Emissions Community” vision. In response, Prime Minister Prayut expressed his commitment to strengthen relations in these areas and hoped for further investment from Japanese companies. The two leaders also shared the view to reflect cooperation in these areas in the "Five-Year Plan for Strategic Economic Partnership between Japan and Thailand," which is currently being formulated.
(3) Response to COVID-19
Prime Minister Kishida stated that the Government of Japan decided to provide a loan of 50 billion yen to support measures to counter COVID-19 and to strengthen quarantine measures at the border by procuring equipment. He hoped that the two countries would be able to overcome the COVID-19 crisis and resume cross-border travel between the two countries. Prime Minister Prayut expressed his gratitude for Japan's support on COVID-19 countermeasures including provision of vaccines and hoped for the early resumption of cross-border travel of Japanese tourists and economic activities.
3. Regional and international affairs