Permanent Secretary Chee Wee Kiong of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore and Permanent Secretary Busaya Mathelin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand co-chaired the Singapore-Thailand Political Consultations via videoconference on 26 August 2020.
The Permanent Secretaries reaffirmed the excellent state of bilateral relations between Singapore and Thailand. They expressed appreciation for the mutual assistance and support rendered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, including to the nationals residing in each other’s countries and the facilitation of their return home. Both sides also shared timely information and experiences on combatting COVID-19, and mutually contributed medical supplies, equipment and COVID-19 diagnostic test kits. Both Permanent Secretaries had productive talks on strengthening the resilience of supply chains and connectivity networks, and agreed to expedite ongoing discussions to facilitate essential business travel through a Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) arrangement, with the necessary public health safeguards, between the two countries. Both sides emphasised the importance of further intensifying cooperation with ASEAN’s partners through promoting research and development on vaccines and medicines, as well as their support for ASEAN’s efforts to fight the pandemic, keep our economies open and connected, and establish a framework to deal with future public health emergencies.
The Permanent Secretaries welcomed the continued momentum in bilateral engagements despite the disruptions posed by COVID-19. They reviewed the good progress in bilateral cooperation in wide-ranging areas including trade and investment, defence, finance, education and people-to-people ties. Both sides agreed there was opportunity to expand cooperation in new areas of growth in the post-COVID-19 era such as the digital economy, connectivity, smart cities and cybersecurity. The Permanent Secretaries also exchanged views on regional and international developments, and stressed the importance of strengthening ASEAN Centrality and unity, as well as deepening regional economic integration through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement that will be signed later this year.
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MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
26 AUGUST 2020