On 27 October 2021, H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, participated in the 16th East Asia Summit (EAS) via videoconference. The Summit was chaired by the His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, and attended by the Leaders or representatives from the EAS Participating Countries (EPCs) and the Secretary-General of ASEAN. The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) were also invited to attend.

The Meeting exchanged views on ways to address common challenges, particularly COVID-19, and prepare for other future crises.
The Meeting stressed the need for all countries to work together towards mitigating socio-economic impacts and promoting economic recovery. The Director-General of WHO briefed the Meeting on the current COVID-19 situation, latest developments on vaccines R&D, and ways forward in response to future public health challenges. The Director-General of WTO encouraged all countries to keep markets opens and facilitate trade in goods and services, labour mobility and investment in order to promote rapid and sustainable economic recovery at both regional and global levels.

The Prime Minister encouraged all EPCs to be the leaders of constructive change, by synergising our numerous potentials, strengths and excellences to manage those common challenges successfully. While advancing into the “Next Normal” by “reinventing Thailand”, the Prime Minister emphasised cooperation on capacity building in the areas of public health and economic recovery through utilisation of innovation and technology, strengthening of supply chain connectivity, as well as restoring people’s mobility and tourism. Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model was also presented as a way forward to promote sustainability in all dimensions.

The Meeting adopted 3 outcome documents, namely (1) East Asia Summit Leaders’ Statement on Mental Health Cooperation (2) EAS Leaders’ Statement on Economic Growth through Tourism Recovery and (3) EAS Leaders’ Statement on Sustainable Recovery.