Australia, Thailand agree to stronger trade, defense cooperation

Australia and Thailand agreed Wednesday to strengthen cooperation across trade, defense, law enforcement, and innovation.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his visiting Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul in Canberra, a statement from the Australian Prime Minister's Office said.

The two prime ministers vowed to further expand trade and investment by seizing new opportunities in agriculture and food, clean energy, critical technologies and the digital economy.

The two sides agreed to a "closer" operational cooperation between their law enforcement agencies to contain transnational crimes, and disrupt increasingly sophisticated global criminal networks.

"This builds on decades of cooperation between Australian and Thai authorities to make our communities safer, and will target human and illicit drug trafficking, scam networks and cyber fraud," the statement added.

"As transnational crime becomes more sophisticated, it has never been more important that we look to trusted regional partners to help combat crime, protect our communities and advance a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," the statement quoted Albanese as saying.

Australia and Thailand also agreed to establish a biennial Defense Ministers' Meeting, further strengthening defense cooperation.

Furthermore, the two sides agreed to work "more closely" on science, research and innovation to drive economic growth.

Canberra affirmed its support for Bangkok to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and is committed to working closely with Thailand in vital multilateral forums such as COP31, the World Trade Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

"With two-way trade nearly tripled since our FTA entered into force, Australia's economic ties with Thailand continue to offer enormous potential," Albanese added.

Anutin is on a four-day official visit to Australia, which marks the first official visit by a Thai prime minister to Canberra in 14 years.