For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 11, 2003
Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Thailand
President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra met
on June 10, 2003 to reaffirm the strength and importance of the
alliance between the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand, built
upon 170 years of close and warm relationship between both the two
nations. In recognition of that long history of cooperation, the
President informed the Prime Minister that the United States is
actively considering Thailand's designation as a Major Non NATO Ally
(MNNA).
The two leaders discussed developments in Iraq and reaffirmed their
shared commitment to help build a stable, prosperous, and democratic
Iraq. President Bush welcomed Thailand's offer to deploy a military
engineering battalion and medical teams to Iraq, and expressed
appreciation for the humanitarian assistance that Thailand has already
extended to the Iraqi people. The President further welcomed
Thailand's successful deployment of an engineering battalion working
with the Coalition in Afghanistan, noting that such cooperation
highlights the continued vitality of the U.S.-Thai alliance.
Both leaders agreed that a lasting peace in the Middle East is of
vital interest to the international community. In this regard, Prime
Minister Thaksin expressed his appreciation for the personal
involvement by President Bush to secure a comprehensive road map for
sustainable peace and security in the region.
President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin expressed concern about
the situation on the Korean Peninsula. They reaffirmed their
commitment to work with other states in Asia to achieve the complete,
verifiable, and irreversible elimination of North Korea's nuclear
weapons program, as is necessary for stability, peace, and security in
the region. The President and the Prime Minister expressed concern for
the people of North Korea and agreed on the importance of humanitarian
food assistance and efforts to ensure that it gets to those who need
it.
President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin expressed deep concern
over recent developments in Burma, in particular the violence that
occurred on May 30, 2003. The two leaders agreed on the need for the
immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other National League for
Democracy (NLD) members. Prime Minister Thaksin affirmed the Thai
Government's readiness to do whatever possible to facilitate Burmese
national reconciliation and the return to democracy. Noting that a
democratic and prosperous Burma is important to the stability and
prosperity of Southeast Asia, President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin
called for an immediate substantive political dialogue between Rangoon
and all domestic political elements, consistent with the regime's
stated commitment to a peaceful transition to democracy.
The two leaders emphasized their continued support for a peaceful
solution to the conflict in Aceh and expressed hope that the parties
would return to a negotiating process that seeks a political settlement
which addresses the grievances of the people of Aceh, while respecting
the territorial integrity of Indonesia.
The President commended Thailand's strong leadership in responding
to the challenge of terrorism in Southeast Asia and its commitment to
the international community to fight against all forms of terror. The
President also expressed appreciation for the close U.S.-Thai
partnership on counterterrorism. President Bush and Prime Minister
Thaksin discussed recent developments in the war on terror in Southeast
Asia, welcoming the enhanced cooperation among ASEAN nations that has
helped disrupt terror plots and apprehend members of the Jemaah
Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network. While noting that substantial
progress has been made in eliminating terrorist threats from the
region, the two leaders agreed that the war on terror is far from
over. The President and the Prime Minister agreed on the need to
further strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation to combat
terrorism and looked forward to the upcoming APEC Leaders' Meeting in
Bangkok as an important opportunity to advance important
counterterrorism objectives. The President praised Thailand for
joining the Container Security Initiative (CSI), designed to enhance
the protection of shipping against exploitation by terrorists, and
welcomed the plan for Minister of Foreign Affairs Surakiart Sathirathai
and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge to sign the Declaration of
Principles in Washington.
The two leaders recognized the long, successful history of
cooperation between the United States and Thailand on law enforcement
and counternarcotics. President Bush appreciated Thailand's leadership
in hosting one of the largest and most successful U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) operations in the world as well as the U.S.'Thai
International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA). President Bush
recognized Prime Minister Thaksin's determination to combat
transnational crime in all its forms, including drug trafficking and
trafficking in persons. Regarding recent press allegations that Thai
security services carried out extrajudicial killings during a
counternarcotics campaign in Thailand, Prime Minister Thaksin stated
unequivocally that the Thai Government does not tolerate extrajudicial
killings and assured President Bush that all allegations regarding
killings are being investigated thoroughly.
President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin celebrated the long U.S.
-Thai partnership on a wide variety of tropical and infectious
diseases, including HIV/AIDs, and agreed to strengthen that cooperation
to combat new threats, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS). The President commended Thailand's leadership in hosting the
ASEAN and China Summit on SARS and offered continued U.S. support and
assistance. Prime Minister Thaksin informed the President about his
goals for the Asian Cooperative Dialogue (ACD), noting his hope that it
would help strengthen regional cooperation across a range of fields.
President Bush and Prime Minister Thaksin celebrated the robust
economic ties between the United States and Thailand and emphasized a
desire to expand trade and investment ties even further, as called for
in the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The
leaders expressed interest in moving forward under the auspices of the
President's Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative (EAI), which sets forth a
road map to promote investment, growth, and free trade between the
United States and ASEAN countries. The President and the Prime
Minister committed to making tangible progress on existing commitments
under the TIFA, including in the areas of intellectual property rights,
investment, and customs, as a necessary first step towards a possible
free trade agreement. Both leaders also committed to work together in
the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda negotiations,
emphasizing that progress on agriculture will be key to a successful
conclusion of the Doha negotiations.
Both sides recognized that Life Sciences will be one of the leading
industry sectors in the new century, promising significant human
benefits and economic growth. In that regard, Thailand welcomed the
U.S. initiative to establish the Life Sciences Innovation Forum under
APEC. The Prime Minister expressed hope that such mutual cooperation
would advance Thailand's efforts to become a world class center for
research and development in Life Sciences and related health fields.
The President congratulated Prime Minister Thaksin on his
leadership of APEC in 2003. The two leaders affirmed their commitment
to making tangible progress in APEC on both trade and investment
liberalization and counterterrorism objectives. The President looked
forward to his State visit to Thailand before the APEC Economic
Leaders' Meeting and expressed appreciation for the gracious invitation
of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej to visit Thailand. Prime
Minister Thaksin expressed appreciation for the excellent arrangements
being made for the forthcoming visit by His Royal Highness Crown Prince
Vajiralongkorn to Washington. The leaders agreed that these visits
would further strengthen the already warm friendship between their two
governments and between the American and Thai peoples.
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