Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Srettha Thavisin supports Japan’s proposal to launch “Energy and Industry Dialogue” with Thailand, in a move to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the energy and industry sectors.

Prime Minister Srettha on 17 December 2023 held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio, during his visit to Japan from 14 to 18 December to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

He said that Thailand had decided to offer visa exemptions for Japanese business people entering Thailand for short-term business purposes. It also welcomes more Japanese investment in the digital industry in Thailand and hopes to cooperate with Japan in the area of “soft power," especially in the “One Tambon One Product (OTOP)” program.

On the same day, Prime Minister Srettha delivered an intervention on “Partners for Co-creation of Economy and Society of the Future” at the summit. In his intervention, he stated that Thailand’s “Landbridge” Project was part of the country’s vision to enhance regional connectivity. Thailand welcomes prospective investors to be a part of this project. It encourages more investment in renewable energy and sustainable fuel, including hydrogen and ammonia, and is actively promoting green and sustainable finance through taxonomy and issuing sustainability-linked bonds. 

The Prime Minister said that Thailand welcomed Japan’s cooperation on e-commerce, cross-border data flows, data protection, and AI governance to help accelerate digital transformation, and strongly believed that these were new growth mechanisms for creating a prosperous society into the future.

In his intervention delivered on 17 December as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations for 2021–2024, Prime Minister Srettha mentioned the “Ship for Southeast Asian and Japanese Youth Program,” which helps promote friendship between Japanese and ASEAN, including Thai, youths, and promotes Japanese animation, which has captivated audiences across generations, inspiring creativity, enhancing cultural understanding and instilling positive values. On a personal note, the Prime Minister grew up watching Tiger Mask and the Specter-man, one of the world’s first superheroes, which inspired him and motivated many young people of his generation to work toward a better and peaceful world.

He said that Thailand recognized the vast potential of such soft power and creative industries as a driver for growth. The country has a growing creative sector encompassing a wide range of activities, including design, fashion, food, film, music, performing arts, gaming, and digital content creation. Thailand hopes to collaborate with Japan and ASEAN on creative industries, to generate not only economic value, but also social value.

Also, on 17 December, Prime Minister Srettha delivered another intervention during the plenary session of the summit. He said that Thailand welcomed efforts by the Asia Zero Emission Community to accelerate energy transition and the Strategic Program for ASEAN Climate and Environment to address climate change. Japan’s leading role and initiatives are indeed pivotal to ASEAN’s green transition. The country aspires to become a leading producer of clean energy and a hub for electric vehicles, and the work on sustainability-linked bonds is also well underway.

Concerning health security, he said that Thailand appreciated Japan’s contribution of 50 million USD to the ASEAN Center for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases to enhance regional public health resilience. The Prime Minister appreciated the forefront of promoting the Universal Health Coverage at the global level between Thailand and Japan and invited all sides to intensify cooperation to achieve more equitable and sustainable Universal Health Coverage to strengthen the region’s healthcare system.