The Royal Thai Embassy, Bucharest
5th December 2009 marks the 82nd Birthday Anniversary of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej and the National Day of the Kingdom of Thailand.
During 63 years of the reign, H.M. the King has dedicated his life for the well being of all Thai people. More than 3,000 Royal Development Projects, ranging from agriculture, environment to health, transportation and irrigation, have been initiated by H.M to help increase the quality of life of his people. The philosophy of “Sufficiency Economy,” stressing on moderation as a main objective, was introduced by H.M. as guidance for society in dealing with challenges arising from globalization and has been regarded by the UNDP as keys for human development.
With the population of approximately 65 millions and GDP of 270 billions USD, Thailand continues to play its role in global economy. In the year 2008, total export from Thailand to the world was almost 180 billion USD covering various commodities from agriculture products to industrial products. Thailand is also the world’s important food exporter. Thai food products, in particular fresh and processed, are well known internationally for their taste and quality. Moreover, Thailand is a part of an important regional free trade area, namely ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) which includes 10 countries of Southeast Asia and population more than 570 millions. With its strategic location and highly developed logistical facilities, Thailand, therefore, is also a gateway of the region.
In additional, Thailand is ranked 12th from 183 economies in the ease of doing business in 2010 by the World Bank.
Apart from trade and economic aspect, Thailand also shares its part in international arena. Thailand is an active member of the UN and its subsidiary organizations as well as other international grouping such as Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which is one of the significant and integrated regional groupings in the world. Under Thailand’s chairmanship in 2009, ASEAN has moved towards the realization of ASEAN Community by 2015, AFTA is to be fully in place in 2010 and the Chiangmai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM) setting up between ASEAN and China, Japan and Republic of Korea as a regional financial mechanism is to be fully in effect by the end of this year.
For bilateral relations, Thailand and Romania have had a happy 36 years of diplomatic relations. High level visits have been exchanged in the past years. In 2009, President of the Senate and the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand paid official visits to Romania. These visits have strengthened ties between the two countries. In terms of economic relations, the mutual trade volume has gradually increased from 49.7 millions USD in 2001 and 117.7 millions USD in 2007 to 132.1 million USD in 2008. Still, there are lager rooms and opportunities for exploring commercial and investment cooperation between the two countries in the years ahead.
On the cultural side, Thailand has continuously introduced its culture to Romanian people. Throughout this year, Thai food and fruits introduction events have been promoted providing Romanian people opportunities to know how to cook Thai food and to taste Thai food and fruits freshly brought from Thailand. Also, together with Embassies of ASEAN’s member countries in Romania and with cooperation from the National Village Museum, the exhibition on ASEAN’s fabrics and crafts which includes those of Thailand was held at the National Village Museum, Bucharest. It was also noted that the number of tourists from both sides has constantly increased year by year. It is worth mention that Thailand is ranked 2nd best value for money and perennially good value in traveling by the Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2010. This people to people contact would continue to be the concrete foundation for Thai-Romanian relations at present and in the future.
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