EU joins Indo-Pacific partners, including Thailand, in the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
On 22 February 2022, Foreign Minister of France, H.E. Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission (HRVP), H.E. Mr Josep Borrell Fontelles, co-hosted an Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Paris bringing together foreign ministers from 57 countries (27 EU member states and 30 Indo-Pacific partners), including H.E. Mr Don Pramudwinai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
In the forum, the EU participants reiterated the importance of the Indo-Pacific region for Europe. H.E. Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian said “We share the same attachment to multilateralism and to a rules-based international order. (…). The European countries are willing to become more involved in the Indo-Pacific, through concrete actions of cooperation that meet our Indo-pacific partners’ expectations.” H.E. Mr Josep Borrell Fontelles said, “We have a strategy for the Indo-Pacific at the European Union and we propose the strategy to all our partners. That is to say, for all of us to work together for stability, security, prosperity and development. We believe that we have certain amount of capacity, expertise and resources necessary to contribute to a joint solution to our global problems.”
The Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, held in light of the recently adopted European frameworks of the EU-Indo-Pacific Strategy and the Global Gateway Strategy, serves as a forum for discussions on three related issues: security and defence, connectivity, and global issues.
On security and defence, the EU reaffirmed its determination to enhance its engagement in security and defence with regional partners, including by strengthening dialogues and bilateral relationships.
On connectivity, through the Global Gateway Strategy, the EU will seek to promote all aspects of connectivity with Indo-Pacific partners. The EU emphasised the significance of creating the conditions for the successful launch of the Team Europe Initiative on Sustainable Connectivity in ASEAN, which aims to develop green and sustainable concrete projects with Southeast Asian partners.
On global issues, the forum addressed three major priorities: (1) climate change mitigation, (2) biodiversity prevention and ocean protection, and (3) health cooperation. The forum discussed the cooperation-driven Green Team Europe Initiative, in collaboration with ASEAN/ Southeast Asia, as a means of assisting in the achievement of ambitious and fair energy transitions in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Ministerial Forum was organised under the French Presidency of the Council following the endorsement by EU leaders in October 2021 of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. The EU is looking forward to developing a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region with our partners, including Thailand, both bilaterally and through the ASEAN framework in order to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for the region.
Aside from attending the forum, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don had bilateral meetings with HRVP Joseph Borrell and Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans to discuss various global, regional and national issues such as EU-Thai relations, sustainable development and health cooperation. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don also had a bilateral meeting with French Foreign Minister Le Drian. At this occasion, both sides signed the Roadmap for Thai-French Relations (2022-2024) with the objective to elevate bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership.