Thailand and the United States on Wednesday discussed “proactive” economic, trade and investment cooperation, which will be crucial for salvaging the economy in the aftermath of the new coronavirus pandemic.
The discussion was carried out between Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Michael George DeSombre, the new US ambassador to Thailand, during the latter’s visit to introduce himself to Gen Prayut at Government House.
The ambassador praised the Thai government for its success in implementing effective measures to bring down the number of new Covid-19 infections.
He pledged support to the Thai government’s continuing fight to contain the outbreak and thanked the Thai government for taking good care of US citizens as well as other foreigners who live in Thailand.
Both sides expressed their gratitude towards the Thai-US active cooperation in various areas including security and public health over past decades.
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, for instance, has the largest office outside the US in Bangkok, the US ambassador said.
Gen Prayut called for closer cooperation in every area of Thailand-US dealings.
He also thanked the US for a supply of personal protective equipment donated to Thailand for use on medical staff handling Covid-19-infected patients.
The US ambassador said he intended to work hard towards promoting and strengthening economic partnership between the US and Thailand.
Gen Prayut also asked the US ambassador to send his best wishes to US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump who had offered the prime minister moral support while leading Thailand’s combat against Covid-19 outbreak and wished Thailand to achieve improvements in the outbreak situation.
Gen Prayut said he is confident that every US ambassador to Thailand holds a crucial role in strengthening US-Thai relations and friendship, which have been successful and ongoing for more than 180 years.