US, EU congratulate Srettha, look forward to closer relations with Thailand
The United States and the European Union (EU) have congratulated Srettha Thavisin on his election as Thailand's prime minister.
“We look forward to working with the prime minister to build on last year's US-Thailand Communique on Strategic Alliance and Partnership, and to further strengthen the enduring alliance between the United States and Thailand,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press statement released on Thursday.
“We will collaborate closely with the new Thai government to continue advancing our shared values and for a free and open, connected, peaceful, and resilient Indo-Pacific region,” he said in the statement published on the US Embassy website.
“This year, we celebrate 190 years of formal diplomatic relations, making the US-Thai partnership one of our oldest relationships in the world. Together, as friends and allies, we have deepened mutual prosperity, improved security in the region, faced global public health challenges, and forged strong people-to-people ties,” Blinken said in his statement.
Srettha, the prime ministerial candidate of coalition leader Pheu Thai Party, secured majority support from Parliament at a joint meeting of both Houses on Tuesday, winning 482 votes from 750 parliamentarians. A ceremony to receive the royal command endorsing his appointment was held at the Pheu Thai headquarters on Wednesday.
The EU also congratulated Thailand’s new prime minister in a statement by the EU High Representative released on Wednesday.
“The EU looks forward to working closely with the Royal Thai government to reinforce further EU-Thailand relations in support of the rules-based international order, regional stability, sustainable development, democracy and human rights, prosperity, and free and fair trade,” said the statement released by the European External Action Service’s Press Team.
“The EU-Thailand Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, signed in December 2022, provides the opportunity to deepen our cooperation across all these areas of common interest. The European Union looks forward to its early implementation under the new administration,” it said.
The statement was published on the website of the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand.
