(From left to right: Ms. Gwen Robinson, H.E Mr. David Daly, H.E Mr. Asi Mamanee, H.E, Mr. Felipe de la Morena Casado, Dr Natthanan Kunnamas)
On October 2nd 2023, HDFF team attended “The Prospects of EU-Thai Relations: The Way Forward under the New Government” forum discussion held by Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) Thailand in Chulalongkorn University. The forum invited notable speakers, which are H.E. Mr. David Daly, the Ambassador of the European Union (EU) to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Asi Mamanee, the Director-General, Department of European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, H.E Mr. Felipe de la Morena Casado, the Ambassador of Spain to Thailand, as well as Dr Natthanan Kunnamas, the Jean Monnet Chair and Associate Professor in Political Science and Director for the Centre of European Studies in Faculty of Political Science in Chulalongkorn University. The discussion was moderated by Ms. Gwen Robinson, a senior fellow at ISIS Thailand, editor at Nikkei Asian Review, as well as former president at FCCT. The main topic of the forum was to discuss how the EU-Thai relations under the new Thai government will be.
Dr. Prakorn Siriprakob, the Dean and Associate Professor of the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University opened the forum by thanking all the speakers for participating in the forum. In his opening remark, he also briefly shared the long history of EU and Thailand relations, which has existed for 60 years. He closed the opening remarks by sharing the huge optimism of the partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) and free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Thai, as well as how the new Thai government will move forward with the agreement.
The forum discussion commenced with brief presentations from each speaker. Ambassador. Daly was the first one to present his view on the EU-Thai relations. He emphasized that the PCA which was recently signed will open numerous potential partnerships, not only in supporting democracy and human rights issues, but also related to trade, investment, and many more. He also elaborated on how the EU will be able to share its experience to ASEAN countries, including Thailand, on various topics, such as academic exchange and cyber security. The PCA will also be a chance for the EU and Thailand to maintain and deepen their partnership in relations to maritime security, transportation, Myanmar issue, EU green deal, and many more important issues. Finally, he also explained about the deforestation and carbon trading demand from the EU, reflecting both EU policies and the growing environmental consciousness in the European market.
Following Ambassador Daly’s presentation, the forum was continued by the presentation from Ambassador Mamanee, who shared the Thai foreign affairs’ priorities under the new administration. He outlined three main priorities for Thai foreign affairs, which are (1) vast economic cooperation by having FTA with more countries, and EU will be the priority; (2) fostering partnership in security issues, in relation to climate adaptation, cyber security, and energy security; and finally (3) technological advancement, by promoting digital economic and digital transformation of Thailand workforce. He ended the presentation by mentioning his hope that the agreement with the EU will also help Thailand to meet its priorities.
Next, Ambassador de la Morena Casado delivered his speech, beginning by condemning the Russia-Ukraine war for its illegality. Next, he highlighted the four prioritization of Spain in its foreign affairs, which are (1) industrialization and diversifying trade and investment to strengthen supply chain to ensure resilience in dealing with crisis like Covid-19 pandemic and ensuring energy and food security; (2) fostering ecological transition against climate change and environmental degradation; (3) promotion of greater social economic justice and the importance of adequate distribution on economic growth; and then (4) unity to achieve all the aims. Aside from that, Ambassador de la Morena Casado also elaborated on the key role of Thailand in the ASEAN region, and his expectation that Thailand will play a crucial role to foster cooperation between the EU and other ASEAN countries, as well as the cooperation between the EU and Indo Pacific countries.
After Ambassador de la Morena Casado concluded his presentation, Dr Kunnamas began her presentation. She briefly mentioned the previous donor-recipient relationship between the EU and Thailand in terms of capacity building and education assistance. However, the relationship shifted for the better in 2009 when the EU started sending delegation to Thailand to foster a more equal relationship. She explained how the PCA and FTA will represent this EU-Thai relations, since both sides need each other equally. She expanded her presentation by mentioning how the EU-Thai partnership is expected to not only benefit Thailand, but will also influence other ASEAN countries, given Thailand’s key role within ASEAN. She echoed Ambassador de la Morena Casado’s statement about EU-Indo Pacific partnership, on how Thailand can act as a strategic partner in it. She concluded by emphasizing Thailand’s benefit on the EU-Thailand partnership, encompassing not only human rights capacity building but also addressing equally critical issues like pollution reduction.
HDFF extends its gratitude to the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) at Chulalongkorn University for their hospitality during this lecture and looks forward to participating in future events dedicated to upholding democracy.