Key Congressional members have set up the US-Thai Alliance Caucus, which will serve as a bipartisan hub to promote relations between the two countries, according to an informed source.

The source said that US Representatives Michelle Steel and Scott Peters recently wrote to the US Congress’s chairman of the House Administration Committee, Bryan Steil, stating their desire to register the US-Thai Alliance Caucus at the US Congress. Both Steel, Republican, and Peters, Democrat, representing California, will co-chair the new caucus.

The caucus will also seek to address issues impacting the Thai-American community on a broad range of issues. In addition, the caucus will serve as a platform for the promotion of awareness and better understanding of Thailand. Other objectives include promoting cooperation between the US-Thai legislative branches, people-to-people connectivity andcivil society exchanges,

Thailand and the US are celebrating 190 years of diplomatic ties this year. Siam, the former name of Thailand, was the first Asian country to establish ties with the US. Their relations were formalised in 1833, with a Treaty of Amity and Commerce, and reaffirmed their relationship with the 1954 Manila Pact, of the former Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation. In 2003, the United States designated Thailand as a major non-NATO ally.

Thailand has invested more than US$10 billion in the US, creating more than 60,000 jobs in 27 states. Major Thai investors are Thai Union Group, CP Foods, Gulf Energy, Indorama Ventures and Siam Cement Group, among others.