Around 30 ambassadors and other diplomats joined Thai officials and other distinguished guests in the ballroom of the Arnoma Grand Hotel for a night to remember. The Thai and Cuban national anthems were played and the ambassador gave a short speech. Then a Cuban salsa band began playing and Mr Almeida took the floor with Elena Olivia Conde Picans, his nine-year-old daughter. Guests looked on in amazement as they danced in perfect synchronization. On the 4th floor by the swimming pool, Cuban cigars and rum were on offer. ​

The Cuban Embassy may not be as imposing as the sprawling diplomatic compounds on Wireless Road, but it has a personal touch that makes it no less impressive. Large photos of former President Fidel Castro, his brother and former President Raúl Castro and current President Miguel Díaz-Canel adorn the walls. Colorful brochures in Spanish and English are available to visitors.
 
The Ambassador’s residence is nearby, situated in a quiet neighborhood off Sukhumvit Road. Some of the photos on these pages were taken there. The ambassador’s wife, Thelma Alina Picans Esnard, who also works at the embassy, prepared breakfast for everyone.

The Philippines Ambassador to Thailand, Her Excellency Mary Jo A. Bernardo-Aragon, began her assignment in Bangkok in July 2015. She has since established a well-deserved reputation in the local diplomatic corps as a highly experienced career diplomat who is also open, sincere and down-to-earth. During our conversation at the Philippine embassy on Sukhumvit Road she revealed a passion for work in the foreign service that began well before she joined the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs in June 1979. She also revealed that her assignment in Bangkok is the final chapter of a distinguished career. “This is my first and also my last ambassadorial appointment,” said the ambassador.
​
“I am already 64 years old and our mandatory retirement age is 65.”

Background
I was born and raised in Manila and went to a Catholic school run by nuns– Saint Rita College for elementary and part of high school. My father, who worked for the Philippine Atomic Energy Commission, was seconded by the Philippine government in 1969 to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, where I finished high school at the American International School. My parents, older sister and I were all in Vienna. I am the youngest in the family. My elder brother was at that time studying in the United Kingdom. After high school I continued my studies in Germany and the UK. Having lived in Austria and Germany, I had the opportunity to learn the German language. Regrettably, I have not spoken the language for so long, but I hope to pick it up again,” said the ambassador.
 
“In those years abroad I was exposed to many new things. While studying at the international school I became interested in meeting people from different backgrounds and in international organizations. At the university, I took courses in international relations to prepare myself for a career where I could be of service to my country and our people, and at the same time have the opportunity to meet people from different countries.”
 
After passing the Foreign Service Officers’ Examinations, Ms Bernardo-Aragon joined the Department of Foreign
Affairs in Manila in 1979, where over the years she held a number of important positions. As she had hoped, her profession has also allowed her to spend a lot of time abroad. She represented her country for a number of years in Brussels and also saw extensive duty on the other side of the Atlantic, first in New York City with the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and then in Los Angeles with the Philippine General Consulate there.
 
“My very first posting abroad was as Third Secretary and Vice-Consul at the Philippine Embassy in Brussels in 1982, dealing with our bilateral relations with Belgium and Luxembourg. In 1985, the Philippine embassy and Philippine Mission to the Commission of the European Community were merged. At that time, our overseas postings were for eight years, which were reduced to six years by the Philippine Foreign Service Act in 1991. Then we return to Manila to serve in the Home Office for two or three years before we become eligible for another posting abroad,” said the ambassador. Her last position before coming to Thailand was in Manila for three years as Assistant Secretary of the Office of Internal Audit Services.
 
“I am not an accountant, nor a lawyer, so I had to have some training for that job. Establishing offices of internal audit in different government agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, was a part of the government’s anti-corruption measures. My office reported directly to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.”
 
When she became eligible for a new overseas posting in 2015 and expressed interest in the Bangkok post, she was greatly honored when the President of the Philippines appointed her to her current position. “All ambassadorial appointments need to be confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, which is made up of members from both houses of Congress, 12 from the Senate and 12 from the House of Representatives. The Commission is chaired by the President of the Senate. There are hearings and then they vote on confirmation. This is a part of the constitution that was put in place in 1987 when we returned to democracy.”
 
While Ms Bernardo-Aragon was elated with her eventual confirmation, she had to deal with a great personal loss at that time. “I had planned to bring my mother with me here. But unfortunately, before I could do so, she passed away in September 2015. My father passed away in 2003.”

Background
 
“I studied political science at the Pontifical Catholic University in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a bachelor´s degree in political science and international relations. In 1980 I entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and graduated from the Institute of Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship in Buenos Aires. In 1982 I had my first post as diplomat in Switzerland. It was at the General Consulate of Argentina in Zurich,” Ambassador Sonschein said.
 
“From the beginning of my studies I knew that I wanted to become a career diplomat and this is what I have been
doing all these years of my life. Being Ambassador of Argentina to the Kingdom of Thailand is a dream come true as I considered Thailand my second home, and I love prathet Thai and kon Thai so much!
 
“I arrived in Thailand for the first time in 1998 on a tourist trip with my husband, and it was love at first sight. I visited the country a couple more times and then, in 2008, I was sent as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy in Bangkok. I stayed until 2012 and then came back every year for holidays passing through Bangkok to go to India or Bhutan.
 
“I was appointed by Argentine President Mauricio Macri as Ambassador to Thailand in August 2016. Argentine ambassadors have no set terms. When our President recalls us, we end our mission abroad. But normally the time is four to five years in the post.
 
“Before coming here I worked in different places at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as Departments of Cooperation, Politics, and Human Resources. But I spent most of my time at the Protocol Department heading the Direction of International visits, which dealt with the visits of high-ranking officials and head of states from all over the world including when our President went abroad.
 
“That post allowed me to travel around the world and visit places that normally tourists cannot have access to. I’ve been to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Canada and China, many times in the USA, Singapore, India, Japan, the Vatican, Rome, Switzerland, and several other countries in Europe as well as in Latin America.
 
“Normally I arrived at destinations before the president and his delegation in order to prepare and arrange all details of the official visit with the local protocol department. It was extremely challenging and risky, but I enjoyed it so much. It was very nice meeting different people from other countries and speaking other languages.
 
“However, my career was not homogeneous or a classic diplomatic career. I got married to an ambassador, so I decided to follow him. When he was posted abroad I took leave of my duties as a diplomat and became an ambassador’s wife. So, I swapped my ‘chapeau’ in Buenos Aires and started a different kind of work. I enjoyed so much being with him and complementing his posting. We were the perfect diplomatic couple. He was an outstanding senior diplomat with a lot of experience, culture and knowledge. I learned many things from him and we shared so many interesting experiences.
​
“We stayed in Dublin, Ireland, and actually we got married there; I have fabulous memories… Next we went to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The first two years were very interesting, as the Balkan countries have a special charm. But then the Kosovo war started and my husband refused to leave the capital even though the government allowed us to do. So I decided to stay with him. We spent 72 days under the NATO bombardment. It was a very tough period but we survived and it was an extraordinary experience.”

The Persian Gulf and its strategic ‘Strait of Hormuz’ is one of the world’s most important strategic regions, and Iran is the main provider of its security.
 
“It is said that nowhere is more important than the Persian Gulf in the continuation of growth of the global
economy and international stability. Why? Because it contains 63% of the world oil reserves; provides more than41% of the world’s oil consumption; contains 30% of global gas reserves and the daily passing of 15 to 17 million oil barrels through the Strait of Hormuz.
 
“Backed by more than 7,000 years of written history, Iran is 10th in the world in terms of tourism attractions, fifth in ecotourism and 23 sights of Iran have so far been inscribed by UNESCO as the world heritage. With all these Iran being known as the cradle of civilization.
 
“With 24 million of young high educated and well qualified human resources, Iran has been ranked sixth in the world for Nano Technology Articles, the producer of the first Nano-organic iron chelate fertilizer in the world and producer of Nano fibers with new morphologies via the synthesis of functional aureole Nano fibers.

Amazing journey from victim of apartheid to Ambassador of ‘Rainbow Nation’
Words MAXMILIAN WECHSLER​

By Maxmilian Wechsler
Last month The BigChilli published an article on the growing influence of women in the Bangkok diplomatic corps. Not surprisingly, the big majority of ambassadors and other diplomats representing their nations in the Land of Smiles are still men, and we are giving them equal time in this month’s edition. Following is a list of the male ambassadors and chargé d’affaires overseeing their countries’ embassies in Bangkok as of September 26, according to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Currently more than 50 women serve as head of mission under the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. So it’s really no surprise that Thailand is probably hosting more female ambassadors than ever before, and there are no less than 26 women in charge of their country’s diplomatic interests in Thailand.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), 14 women are currently residing in Thailand as ambassadors for their respective countries. As of this writing, ten more women are credited as either nonresident ambassadors or non-resident high commissioners for their countries’ missions to Thailand, although the exact number tends to change fairly often.
 
I have met all 14 ambassadors now residing in Bangkok at national day receptions or other functions, and I can say that without exception they are hard-working and highly capable  diplomats. The Dean of the Bangkok diplomatic corps is presently the Singaporean ambassador, Her Excellency Mrs Chua Siew San. The MFA website gives the date she commenced her post in Bangkok as March 23, 2012. There are 78 embassies in Bangkok, employing close to 1,300 diplomats, officials and military officers who are registered with the MFA. More than 350 of these are women, holding positions including minister and deputy head of mission, first secretary and deputy head of mission, minister-counselor, defence attaché, deputy defence attaché, counselor, first, second or third secretary, attaché, assistant attaché, consul and vice-consul. About 100 women are attached to the US embassy, which is the biggest mission in Thailand; the second biggest is mainland China with about 30 women.
 
Around 700 spouses of diplomats and officials, mostly women, assigned to embassies in Bangkok, are also registered with the MFA. A great many of these are anything but stay-at-home wives and in fact play integral roles in their respective countries’ missions to Thailand.
 
There could be more women replacing at least 14 ambassadors, including one woman, who are at the end of their assignments here and either already gone or departing soon. The list includes the ambassadors of Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, Luxembourg, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States.
 
Out of 15 consulate-general offices representing 13 countries in Thailand, only the US Consulate-General in Chiang Mai has a woman in charge. In all, the 15 consulates employ close to 100 people, and nearly a third are women.
 
Among the 115 consulates representing 83 countries headed by an honorary consul (20 countries have more than one consulate here), 22 have placed women in charge, most of them Thai nationals. Cities hosting consulates in Thailand are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Pattaya, Khon Kaen, Phetchaburi, Phuket, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Rayong, Songkhla and Surat Thani.
​

​HER Excellency Mrs Evren Dağdelen Akgün took up the post of Turkish Ambassador to Thailand in February last year and has quickly won a reputation for being one the most active and interesting members of the Bangkok diplomatic corps.
Sharp, vibrant and dedicated to her country, the ambassador answered all questions, including the sort that tends to make many diplomats uncomfortable. During an interview at the ambassador’s Bangkok residence it was a pleasant surprise to meet and speak with His Excellency Mehmet Suat Akgün, Turkish Ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, who was visiting his wife.

​“Official relations between Turkey and Thailand began in 1958, the same year our embassy opened. We are now celebrating our 60th year and a series of events to mark the anniversary will be organized.
“To this end, we will soon be signing a declaration of intent between our two culture ministries. We are planning a lot of activities that will be starting in a couple of months. Among these activities are a musical presentation from Turkey in December, as well as film and food festivals, children’s puppet and art shows, an archeology seminar and so on.
 
“Besides vibrant bilateral relations, Thailand and Turkey also cooperate in a number of multilateral platforms, especially UN related. ASEAN is now a big focus for us, and we entered into a sectoral dialogue partnership last year. We are very thankful that Thailand supported us in this respect. We have a special relationship with ASEAN and we will be doing a lot of projects with ASEAN countries. When Thailand takes over the chairmanship of ASEAN next year, we will have even more contacts with Thailand also in this context.
 
“The trade volume between our two countries is about US$2.1 billion both ways. We are importing from Thailand products like diesel engines and parts, fibers and sun panels. We export pipes, wheat, nylon fibers, diesel engines and parts. We export and also import car parts and chemicals. The trade balance is in Thailand’s favor, but actually we have recorded a big increase in exports in recent years. We are in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement with Thailand and we’re hopeful this will help increase trade both ways.

​THE ambassador said she finds a lot of similarities between Thailand and Turkey and between Thais and Turks. “The dynamism in this part of the world is remarkable and there is a similar dynamism in Turkey. We have taken a tremendous leap forward, especially in the last 15-16 years. Our GDP is now worth US$850 billion. Our economy ranks 17th in the world and 6th in Europe.
 
“The population is about 80 million people, half of them under the age of 31. It is a very young, vibrant and well-educated society. We are growing really fast, and we are attracting significant FDI and a lot of international visitors for purposes other than tourism: Turkey is a magnet for people seeking quality health care and education. A lot of university students from around the world are coming to Turkey.
 
“Our economic development allows us to go out into the world and make our own contribution. Turkey today is providing official development and humanitarian aid to other countries in the amount of over US$8 billion. This made us the largest donor in the World in 2017.
 
“The development of Turkey has been quite phenomenal. Our economic capability has grown tremendously and we reported 7.4% growth last year. On average we’ve had around 5-6% growth for many years. We have been using this economic development to make big investments both in Turkey and our neighboring environment. We are in the middle of a region with a population of 1.6 billion people. I am observing intently the dynamic projects that Thailand is undertaking in terms of regional connectivity and we are doing the same thing.
 
“We are carrying out projects for the enhanced connectivity of Central Asia such as Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil, Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipelines and Baku- Tbilisi-Kars railway line.
 
“We are aiming to create a synergy between our Trans- Caspian East-West Middle Corridor Initiative (Middle Corridor) and the Belt and Road initiative. Edirne-Kars High Speed Railway is a strategic project for Asia and Europe. It will constitute an integral part of the Euro-Asia Transport Corridors, connecting with the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
 
“It is a crucial component of the Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor. It plays an indispensable role in reviving the Modern Silk Road, facilitates uninterrupted connection between Asia and Europe. Edirne-Kars High Speed Train will be of vital importance in completing the missing links along the Middle Corridor. Marmaray, inaugurated in 2013, provides uninterrupted railway connection between Asia and Europe traversing the Bosphorus.
 
“In 2016, we opened the undersea tunnel called the “Eurasia Tunnel.” It is the first two-level undersea road tunnel in the world. The impressive civil engineering project significantly improves commuting times for citizens and businesses in Istanbul and allows vehicles to cross between Europe and Asia under the Bosphorus Strait. The 14.5 km tunnel connects the European side and the Asian sides with 5.4 km of the route under the Bosphorus.”
  
The Ambassador noted that “under the Middle Corridor initiative, we are pleased to note that the Baku- Tbilisi-Kars railway has become operational as of October 30, 2017. This new connection will greatly facilitate the connection between Beijing and London via Istanbul.
 
“We are also nearing completion of one of the largest airports in the world. Istanbul New Airport will open on October 29, our Republic Day. It will be 76 million sqm in area, four times as big as the airports of Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Beijing, with a starting capacity of 90 million passengers per year which will be brought up to 200 million.
 
“The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline just became operational. It forms the most important link in the southern gas corridor from the Caspian Sea which provides natural gas to Europe. So we are also contributing to the energy security of Europe. The Trans- Anatolian section of the corridor will carry six billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey and 10 billion to Europe. This is a very important link. While we are working on megaprojects like these, we are also striving to extend the commercial and economic benefits they bring to the people of Turkey and the region.”

​“Our own economic development has allowed us to turn around and help others. Our foreign policy is enterprising and humanitarian,” said the ambassador, who pointed to Turkey’s neighbor to the south. “We have been hosting about 3.5 million Syrians for the past seven years.
 
“Consider, in Europe some governments faced failure because they have tried to take in far fewer people who had been forcibly displaced. Taking in 3.5 million Syrians and giving them education, health and various social services is a big undertaking. The last figure I have is that we’ve spent more than US$31 billion on care for the Syrian refugees. Only less than 7% of them are in camps.
 
“We have now special regulations in force that allows them to work. They can work as those under temporary protection. It has been a successful social experience because Turkish people have been very welcoming to these people after seeing how their country has been torn apart and that they need to be helped. Helping those in need is a policy that is backed by our people.”
 
When asked about relations between Turkey and other neighbours, the ambassador said: “Enhancing political dialogue and cooperation with neighbours and the countries in our wider region is a priority. So, we have established High Level Strategic/Cooperation Council mechanisms with 23 countries, increasing our bilateral trade volume by up to six or seven-fold.”

“The crisis in Syria is a big problem for Turkey and the region. It also brings political instability right to our border. The human and humanitarian cost is tremendous as well. And that political instability provides a fertile ground for terrorist groups like DAESH.
 
“Successfully concluding the Operation Euphrates Shield last year, we cleared our borders with Syria from DAESH and established a safe haven free of terror, enabling the displaced Syrians to return. We are currently fighting a number of terrorist organizations that present risk and threat to our national security, in addition to DAESH, also the PKK, PYD and YPG. Our counter-terrorism operations are carried out with zero civilian casualty; and on the basis of international law and in accordance with our right to self defence.
 
“Our resolve to fight against these terrorist organizations is firm. This is the understanding behind our full support to all international efforts to this end since day one.
 
“You need to be a strong country both economically and politically in order to carry out effective counter-terrorism operations. We are also calling upon our friends to display solidarity with us for our fight against PYD/YPG.
 
“We are also faced with the group, the Fettullah Organization (FETÖ). As you may know there was a terrorist coup attempt in Turkey in July 2016. It was hatched by this organization, which is like a cult. It has concealed itself in the middle of Turkish society under the banner of a religious leader called Fethullah Gülen who professes to be an Imam of the world.
 
“His ultimate aim seems to be, according to what he preaches, the leader of a caliphate stretching around the world. He has created a big cult-like enterprise where he has set up media houses to shape public opinion, schools inside and outside Turkey – so it is almost 750 schools worldwide. In some places their schools are being closed down or put under state control.
 
“His radical cult calls itself a charitable organization, but is involved in money laundering, financial crimes, its members who on the surface may appear to be just like you or me, are consumed with working toward achieving their leader’s nefarious ends. There is no doubt that FETÖ wanted to take over the Turkish state.
 
“They might be teachers in a school in a small village in Africa or they might be teachers in Asia. But FETÖ’s goal has been to obtain finances and influence in order to infiltrate the Turkish government and sometimes the governments of the countries where they are based. They are using charitable ideas to reach people’s minds, to indoctrinate and recruit.
“They bombed our Parliament and planned to assassinate our President and Prime Minister on July 15, 2016. Bombs were falling in my neighborhood in Ankara one Friday night. We had just come back home from work and started to eat dinner, hoping for a nice weekend, and then everything changed.
 
“All of a sudden jets started to fly really low. It was like they would smash against our apartment. I went to the window and saw four jets flying low over Ankara. They took over TV stations and they shot at the people and officers who tried to stop them. They bombed the intelligence and police headquarters in the middle of Ankara.
 
“These terrorists had been concealing their people in the military and in bureaucratic organizations, waiting for the right moment to launch a coup to take over the Turkish state.
 
“That night they killed 251 people, injured more than 2000, bombed our parliament, which is very close to my home in Ankara. They were dropping bombs from planes and shooting from helicopters at people on the streets both in Istanbul and Ankara. The chief of general staff of the Turkish armed forces was kidnapped on that night.
 
“To be clear, it wasn’t the Turkish army that staged the terrorist coup two years ago. It was a group within the army that was working for Gülen. He was steadily infiltrating his men into important positions in Turkey. Lower ranking officers – Gülen disciples, together with FETÖ affiliated civilians were running the operation, this terrorist attack. Without hesitating a second, our people gave their lives standing against the plotters on July 15th and thwarted a very sinister plan. We now mark July 15th as Democracy and National Unity Day.
 
“We are very protective of our democracy and are determined to fight FETÖ with what it despises most, democracy, rule of law and morality. We are now bringing Gülen’s group to justice for their crimes. Hundreds of court cases bring to surface the dark underbelly of this organization. Investigations into its structures are under way in many countries, its global crime apparatus is shrinking.” 

​“Despite the July 15, 2016 events we continue to sustain a remarkably high growth-rate. The stability, togetherness and unity of the country are all strong. We have tremendous social and economic power that we can rely on. With a population of 80 million and a large work force, we are a big and vibrant market. The purchasing power parity – GNP per capita – is almost US$29,000. The investment climate in Turkey is very modern and liberal and so are our labor laws. As I have mentioned, the infrastructure in Turkey is also very modern and technologically advanced.
 
“Although Turkey went through some internal and external challenges, it is a fast developing country which is negotiating membership in the EU - its strategic foreign policy objective; is a founding member of OECD, Council of Europe, member of NATO, OIC, strategic partner to African Union, G-20 member, a key partner in security and energy issues in its region and beyond. A country whose production used to be agriculture-driven, Turkey is today an industrial producer, exporting 72% of its automotive productions, its army today using defense industry products made domestically, including frigates, attack helicopters, UAVs which are also exported.
“My country has a very rich culture and many-layered history that predates Stonehenge. The world’s first coin was minted in Anatolia. The world’s first written peace treaty was made between the Egyptians and Hittites of Anatolia at Kadesh. Turkey is home to the well-known War of Troy, as well as to two of the seven wonders and two of the three libraries of antiquity (Ephesos and Pergamon).
 
“From the historical Blue Mosque or the Ottoman Topkapı Palace to the contemporary project of the first three-level subsea tunnel in the world to connect the two sides of Istanbul, Turkey is a land where cutting edge modernity meets the beauty of the traditional, and I want to take this opportunity to invite all our Thai friends to come and visit my country of marvels.”

AS Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the European Union to the Kingdom of Thailand, Pirkka Tapiola’s talent for languages comes in handy. Besides his native Finnish, Ambassador Tapiola’s English is near flawless and he’s fluent in French, Russian, Ukrainian and Swedish. He has a good working level command of the German language and basic skills in Romanian, Spanish, Latvian and spoken Thai.

“I am not sure if I actually have a talent for languages or it just comes with the job,” said the ambassador modestly, ensconced in his offce at the Delegation of the European Union at the Athenee Tower on Wireless Road.

In addition to enviable linguistic abilities, he also boasts impressive diplomatic credentials including a lengthy stint as senior adviser to former EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana.

“Ambassadorial terms in the European Union are generally fxed at four years,” said Mr Tapiola. “I will serve here until August 2021. I am accredited only to Thailand even if the Delegation has some regional support function embedded into it. I would not have the time to focus on any other country. The EU is a global player. Here, it means that we have fully-fledged ambassadors also in Cambodia, Myanmar, and the Lao PDR.

“There are about 140 EU Delegations around the world serving as the Union’s ‘embassies’. The EU institutions, including the European Commission and the European External Action Service – EEAS (the EU foreign service) are located in Brussels. The EU foreign policy has become much stronger since 2009 when the Lisbon treaty came into force.

“The treaty established the EEAS, the current position of the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission and transformed European Commission Delegations to EU delegations which represent the Union politically and ensure the local Presidency of the European Union. EU delegations fulfil a dual function in host countries. The Ambassador represents the EU on matters of foreign and security policy common to the 28 Member States. At the same time, he or she also represents the European Commission, which is the executive arm of the EU. So, I represent the EU nations collectively and our executive branch in the effort to build a strong and productive Thailand- EU relationship. There is a division of labour among my ambassadorial colleagues on which matters are for the EU – the Union as whole and which matters concern individual member states.”

Asked about the types of instruction received from Brussels, Ambassador Tapiola noted: “Most instructions are sort of generic to EU foreign policy. Once our decision making system has defined the policy, you function within it. One has room to maneuver within the policy. We have monthly meetings at an ambassadorial level chaired by me and our political and commercial counselors meet, chaired by my colleagues at the Delegation. Member States promote their own commercial interests, but trade policy negotiations are all done at EU level. Trade is one of the EU’s supra-national competencies. My job entails a lot of work and I can tell you, you don’t get too many holidays when you are an EU Ambassador.
 
“Our delegation in Bangkok is in a very nice building and a very good location. We are happy with our services and surroundings. We have close to 100 EU staff, including 50 locals. They are all dedicated. We also have here a regional hub on matters of humanitarian affairs which works sort of independently but is co-located with us.”

“I am looking forward to strengthening the EU-Thailand relationship in all aspects including political partnership, trade cooperation, environment and climate change, democracy, good governance, human rights and cultural diplomacy. We focus on regional cooperation to address global challenges. Thailand plays an important strategic role in ASEAN and Asia as a whole and the EU and Thailand have had a close and strong relationship for almost 40 years.

“Of course, Thailand’s relationship with Europe goes back much further. Thailand and Portugal, which is an EU member state, are celebrating 500 years of relations. Thailand had an emissary at the court of Louis XIV of France. As for current relations between Thailand and EU, we had a period which was complex after the military takeover in 2014. However, developments on the ground here with the adoption of the constitution, going forward with plans for elections and the return of legal cases from military courts back to civilian courts have brought about a situation in which we have renewed political contacts at all levels. That was decided by the Council of the EU on December 11, 2017,” Mr Tapiola said.

“We are also beginning talks about the resumption of negotiations for a free trade agreement, but with the understanding that we will only formally negotiate after there is a democratically elected government. We are preparing for a deepening of relations very rapidly following the election and there is a lot of interaction on that.

“The economic relationship between the EU and Thailand is of course very important. The EU is Thailand’s third largest trading partner after Japan and China. This is an enormous amount of trade and it’s also a very long-standing relationship. The EU is the third biggest investor in Thailand and the second destination for Thai investment. Free trade will be very good for all concerned. We want to move towards this because we in Europe believe in openness and empowering countries. I hope that the preconditions, namely an elected government in place, for resuming negotiations on free trade will be in place very soon.

“The restrictions on government-to-government visits imposed after the military takeover in 2014 have been lifted. The Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai recently visited Brussels and met with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini. He also visited Italy and the Italian Foreign Minister came here. The British Foreign Secretary also visited Thailand and there have been other ministerial visits as well. We are interacting now and talking about matters of mutual interest, including human rights and the return to democracy.

“I just want to say that I am sincerely impressed by the quality and qualifcations of the civil service in Thailand, without exceptions. All the senior civil servants I deal with at the various ministries are excellent and the quality of our discussions is also very good. Sometimes we disagree and sometimes we don’t. Thailand  traditionally has the reputation of having a very strong civil service and it is certainly not unfounded.”