SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good afternoon. I’m delighted to welcome
Foreign Minister Surapong back to the United States. I know he was a
student here, I think, in Washington – or in Ohio, in Ohio. And to also
welcome you on your first official visit here.
Now the United States is very proud of our strong friendship with the
Kingdom of Thailand, representing an alliance that is now 179 years old
and indispensible in our pursuit of promoting shared values, regional
peace, and security. Tomorrow, U.S. and Thai officials will be holding
the fourth round of the U.S.-Thailand Strategic Dialogue, where they
will discuss deepening our cooperation, including on disaster
assistance, trade and investment opportunities, peace keeping, human
rights, people-to-people exchanges, and protecting the environment.
We support the Kingdom of Thailand assuming a greater leadership role
in the region. And we look forward to working with Thailand in pursuing
our common objectives for maintaining peace and prosperity in the Asia
Pacific.
FOREIGN MINISTER SURAPONG: Good afternoon, ladies and
gentlemen. I am very pleased to join Madam Secretary for the Fourth
Thai-U.S. Strategic Dialogue in Washington. Madam Secretary, it is a
pleasure to see you once again, and thank you for your invitation and
your warm hospitality. I look forward to discussing with Madam Secretary
on a number of important issues of common interests for our two
countries.
Our two countries have had a longstanding relationship. Next year, it
will marks 180 years of our relation. Today, we see this relationship
as a strategic partnership with positive developments to – in Southeast
Asia and East Asia. We seek to enhance this partnership to, in
particular, our trade and investment ties to benefit our people. As
partners, we will work together to deal with regional and global
challenges.
Finally, we welcome the U.S. greater engagement with Southeast Asia
and East Asia. We believe that this would help contribute to regional
peace and stability, which is important for economic growth and
prosperity of the region. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Minister. Thank you.
