In addition to delivering his statement at the High Level Segment of the 16th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 28 February 2011, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with the United States Secretary of State, the British Foreign Secretary, and the South African Foreign Minister to discuss critical and rapidly developing global issues, such as the situation in the Middle East and North Africa and the promotion of democracy, as well as to give reassurances about the border situation between Thailand and Cambodia.
During the corridor meeting with Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, FM Kasit Piromya exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East and North Africa. He also reassured, in response to Clinton’s enquiry, that the border situation between Thailand and Cambodia was currently under control and stressed that Thailand wished to solve the issue by peaceful means through existing bilateral mechanisms, as agreed at the Informal Meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers in Jakarta on 22 February 2011.
The corridor meeting with William Hague, British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, and Guido Westerwelle, Vice-Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, mirrored the discussions with Clinton, with Foreign Minister Kasit thanking his two counterparts for their understanding regarding the Thai-Cambodian issue.
The issue of democratization was a highlight during Foreign Minister Kasit’s bilateral discussions with Maite Nkoana-Mahshabane, South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Kasit explained to his counterpart how Thailand was still in the process of moving towards a full-fledged democracy and had established various democratic institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Anti-money Laundering Organization. In addition, the government has also endeavoured to improve transparency as well as freedom of the press. As Thailand is still a developing democracy, Foreign Minister Kasit said that it would be useful for Thailand to learn from the experiences of South Africa, which has experienced a long fight for democracy and was a model of success with regard to national reconciliation.
The South African Foreign Minister said that in South Africa’s own struggles for democracy, an important lesson learned was that the country’s own roots must be protected and the people had to pick and choose what was best for them. She said that they had firmly held on to the principles of “Ubuntu”, which means “I am, because you are”, and had developed a style of democracy which perfectly suited her country and one that all South Africans could be proud of. She added that Thailand had a proud history of never having been colonized and other countries have much to learn from Thailand.
Foreign Minister Kasit finally invited the South African Foreign Minister to Thailand to share her experiences not only as a Foreign Minister, but also as a woman whose experience and success could inspire other women in Thailand.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th