President Benigno S. Aquino III with His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, shake hands after delivering their press joint statement at the Presidents Hall of the Malacañan Palace duringthe latter’s official visitto the Philippines on August 28, 2015. (Photo by Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau)
Joint Press Release of the Philippines and Thailand
on the official visit to the
Republic of the Philippines by
H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
Upon the invitation of President Benigno S. Aquino III, His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, paid an Official Visit to the Republic of The Philippines on 27-28 August 2015. This is the first official visit by Prime Minister Prayut to The Philippines following his appointment as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand in August 2014. Prime Minister Prayut expressed appreciation to President Aquino and the Government of the Republic of The Philippines for the warm welcome and highly accorded hospitality extended to him and his delegation during this visit.
President Aquino and Prime Minister Prayut positively assessed the current state of bilateral relations between The Philippines and Thailand; a friendship shaped by 66 years of extensive cooperation and engagement since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship in 1949.
The two Leaders updated each other on the political developments and national reforms in Thailand and The Philippines. Prime Minister Prayut congratulated President Aquino on the successful implementation of the vision “Straight Path” and the continued high economic growth rate for the past five years. Prime Minister Prayut also informed President Aquino on the progress of the implementation of Thailand’s national reform agenda “Stability, Prosperity and Sustainability”.
The two Leaders had fruitful and in-depth discussions on how the two countries can further improve bilateral relations to building a “Partnership for Prosperity”, strengthen the ASEAN Community and cooperate on regional and international issues.
On Bilateral Cooperation
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen existing bilateral mechanisms. The two Leaders look forward to the inaugural meetings of the Joint Committee on Military Cooperation (JCMC) and the Joint Trade Commission (JTC) in Manila later this year, and the 6th meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) in Bangkok at a mutually agreeable date. Both sides were also pleased to note that the inaugural Philippines – Thailand Energy Forum was convened this month. (PRINCIPLE OF ALTERNAT)
Both sides further noted that the implementation of the Joint Partnership Program between the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) and the Technical Cooperation Council of The Philippines (TCCP), which supports capacity building for women entrepreneurship in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Timor-Leste will commence this September. The Thai side expressed readiness to host the First Meeting on Technical Cooperation between Thailand and The Philippines on 24-25 September 2015.
In the field of defense cooperation, the two Leaders expressed satisfaction on the signing of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Philippine Army (PA) and Royal Thai Army (RTA) Working Group in April 2015. The TOR aims to develop guidelines and rules of procedure on army-related activities between the two armies.
On labor cooperation, Thailand expressed interest to learn from the experiences and best practices of The Philippines in the management and protection of Overseas Filipinos. The two Leaders requested the concerned agencies of both sides to further discuss details of this cooperation.
The two Leaders agreed to facilitate and expedite the signing of the proposed agreements on education, illicit narcotics, livestock, fisheries and defence cooperation industry.
On Economic Cooperation
The two Leaders expressed their satisfaction on the current state of bilateral trade and investments between The Philippines and Thailand, and agreed to continue to enhance trade and investments cooperation. Both sides supported the roles of the business councils of Thailand and The Philippines in promoting trade and investment. They also agreed to explore cooperation in creating opportunities to further improve two-way tourism arrivals.
On Regional and International Cooperation
The two Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue close cooperation towards the realization of the ASEAN Community by upholding ASEAN centrality in the evolving regional security architecture. President Aquino also congratulated Thailand for its pro-active and successful coordinatorship of the ASEAN-China Dialogue from 2012 to 2015. Thailand affirmed to cooperate with The Philippines and ASEAN countries in fully and effectively implementing the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea and the expeditious conclusion of Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.
They also exchanged views on the maritime disputes in the South China Sea. President Aquino apprised Prime Minister Prayut on the latest developments on The Philippines’ arbitration case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
On international cooperation, Thailand expressed support to The Philippines in its hosting of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting in November this year. The Thai side appreciated The Philippines’ continued support for Thailand’s candidature for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the term 2017-2018 and reaffirmed support to The Philippines for its candidature for a seat in the Human Rights Council (HRC) for the term 2016-2018.
The meeting was conducted in a very cordial and warm manner which befits the enduring friendship between the two ASEAN founding members.
Both Leaders committed to work closely together on key issues, challenges and opportunities to achieve the vision of One ASEAN Community: a politically cohesive, economically integrated, socially responsible and rules-based regional bloc that will benefit all the citizens of ASEAN Member States.
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Statement of President Aquino during the official visit of the Prime Minister of Thailand
Toast of President Aquino during the luncheon in honor of the Prime Minister of Thailand
Learn about the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Thailand
