On May 15th, 2015, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Norachit Sinhaseni, led the Thai delegation to participate in the 28th ASEAN-U.S. Dialogue at the Department of State, Washington D.C. and reaffirmed Thailand’s readiness to contribute to the strengthening of the ASEAN-U.S. relations.

The meeting was opened by U.S. Deputy Secretary Anthony Blinken. The Permanent Secretary reaffirmed Thailand’s support for the strong partnership between ASEAN and the U.S. which have brought benefits to the peoples of both sides. This partnership will become even more stronger as ASEAN becomes a Community after the end of the year 2015 and as the U.S. moves forward with the Rebalance to Asia policy.

The Permanent Secretary also took the opportunity to update the meeting about the latest progress relating to ASEAN-China consultations, which Thailand is the country coordinator, and convey Thailand’s views on other regional developments of mutual interest.

On the migrant situation in the Andaman Sea, the Permanent Secretary emphasized that Thailand’s top priority is to save lives and provide humanitarian assistance to those in need. The international meeting on May 29th in Bangkok will seek to mobilize a concerted regional effort backed by international cooperation and support to address this complex, transnational problem.