The Prime Minister of Thailand announced Tuesday that his cabinet approved a bill to provide legal recognition to same-sex marriages. According to Thai media, government spokesperson Karom Polpornklang provided details about the bill in a press briefing on Tuesday. The bill would adjust language in Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code to be LGBTQ-inclusive. Words like “wives” and “husbands” would be changed to neutral terms like “persons” and “engaged couples.”

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has consistently expressed support for Thailand’s vibrant LGBTQ community. In his civilian life, Thavisin implemented several LGBTQ-friendly employee policies at his property company. Since coming into office, Thavisin has promised to consider bills for gender recognition and has supported a Thai campaign to host World Pride 2028. Thavisin is a member of Pheu Thai, a populist political party. Pheu Thai’s coalition with reformist party Move Forward won the May 2023 election in a landslide victory over more conservative, military-backed parties.

The bill already has widespread legislative support. A similar bill on marriage equality was debated in Parliament last year but never came to a final vote. The next step for the current proposal will be to gain approval from the legislature and the King of Thailand. If successful, Thailand will be the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize same-sex couples in this way.