The Foreign Minister emphasized Thailand’s active contribution to the Interfaith Dialogue (IFD) as well as support for the voice of moderation as he and the Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand together shared views and directions for further cooperation on issues pertaining to religious and cultural understanding.
During a courtesy call on 31 March 2011 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the occasion of assuming his duties as Apostolic Nuncio to Thailand, Archbishop Giovanni d’ Aniello discussed extensively various social, cultural, and religious issues with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya. Archbishop d’Aniello noted that a meeting between different faiths would lead to respect, and events such as the Interfaith Meeting to be held in Assisi, Italy on October this year, would contribute greatly to such dialogue. The meeting was called by the Pope on the occasion of The World Day of Peace on 1 January 2011.
Foreign Minister Kasit agreed that the IFD was important for cultural and religious understanding, and reiterated that Thailand was an active participant in domestic forums as well as international fora concerning this. Archbishop d’Aniello acknowledged the fact and praised Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for his very good speech when Thailand hosted the Third Consultation — Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID) and World Council of Churches (WCC) in Bangkok on 25-28 January 2011.
The Foreign Minister also suggested that there was a need to emphasise the importance of common religious teachings and moderation as well as the principles of neighbourliness, love and respect for different religions. In this regard, Archbishop d’Aniello said that the Vatican was ready to sponsor 1-2 Thai students to study in Rome to widen their horizons on education.
The two also discussed general issues such as current global political developments, the current and future nature of information technology and their impact on society, as well as the Vatican’s potential role in the situation of displaced persons from Myanmar.
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