On 30 December 2013 at 10.30 hours, H.E. Mr. Tharit Charungvat, Ambassador of Thailand to the Republic of Turkey, gave an interview to Ms. Selen Tonkus, a journalist from the Anadolu News Agency, on the Thailand-Turkey relations and political situation in Thailand at the Royal Thai Embassy, Ankara.

H.E. the Ambassador told the Anadolu News Agency that 2013 marked as an important milestone to the Thai-Turkish relations. Thailand and Turkey commemorated the 55^th Anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties this year. The year was also coupled with exchange of high level bilateral visits that gives a vital impetus to the Thai-Turkish relations, including the Official Visit of the Thai Prime Minister to the Republic of Turkey in July and the Political Consultations between senior officials from the two countries’ Ministries of Foreign Affairs held in Ankara in May.

At present, Thai-Turkish relations is growing smoothly and cordially. The bilateral trade volume between Thailand and Turkey rose to approximately 1.5 billion USD in favor of the Thai side, or around 10% up from the year 2012. 64,000 Turkish tourists travelled to Thailand in 2012 while Turkey is also becoming a top destination for Thai people.

Even though the bilateral relations has been progressing smoothly, H.E. the Ambassador aims at boosting mutual trade and investment even further. He believes that higher economic figures between the two countries will result in an enlarged economic pie, a win-win situation for both Thailand and Turkey. The two countries have high economic potentials, which unfortunately remain largely untapped. The business communities need to know each other more to tap on business opportunities. The Royal Thai Embassy will therefore serve as a catalyst to bring about more active business interaction.

H.E. the Ambassador is also determined to increase the number of Turkish tourists to Thailand and vice versa. He believes that tourism will allow peoples to see each other’s business potential, an important starting point for greater trade and investment in the future.

The journalist expressed keen interest on the Thai political situation, especially on the aspect that the demonstration has been ongoing peacefully on the streets for a long time and that Thai Government has been able to control the situation with leniency without violence. She stressed the Thai experience is highly commendable and could set as a good example.

H.E. Mr. Tharit opined that the Royal Thai Government and the Thai people have a lesson learned from the past. Even though the Government and the demonstrators have different views on the current political situation, they share the same view on practicing extreme tolerance and avoiding any violence.

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Royal Thai Embassy, Ankara

2 January 2014