On 11 May 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the “Launching Ceremony of Activities to Commemorate the 500 Years Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Portugal” at Vithes Samosorn Hall, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On 11 May 2011, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the “Launching Ceremony of Activities to Commemorate the 500 Years Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Portugal” at Vithes Samosorn Hall, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On this occasion, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, together with Dr. Jorge Torres-Pereira, Portuguese Ambassador to Thailand, delivered the opening remarks. Activities at the event included the video presentation and exhibition on the history of Thai-Portuguese relations, the award presentation to Mr. Tawan Ditapanjong, the winner of the logo design contest, the launching of two commemorative books (in both Thai and English) on the history of Thai-Portuguese relations, as well as the cultural performances and food tasting of the two countries.
On the outset, Foreign Minister Kasit congratulated the celebration of Thai-Portuguese relations which is considered the longest relations Thailand have enjoyed with a Western country and demonstrates how Thailand was able to engage with a big power at that time as equal partners. In this regard, 500 years of Thai-Portuguese relations is important because Portugal, as a World and Sea Power during that period, brought in technological know-how, navigation skills and advanced artilleries and weapons into Thailand, leading to direct interconnectivity between Europe and Asia via the sea. Thus, Thailand, while able to preserve her sovereignty, learned to be flexible and adapt to change, despite differences in culture. It is, therefore, imperative that Thailand should look ahead into the future with visionary leadership, open-mindedness with no prejudice, the same way it could successfully coped with the force globalization that came the country 500 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Portuguese Ambassador thanked the Foreign Minister and the Ministry for hosting the above event. On Portugal’s part, the celebration had started since the end of last year, with the visit to Thailand of the Portuguese ship, Sagres, the tallest ship in the world. Aside from this, the Portuguese Embassy in Bangkok had also convened several activities in Thailand; for instance, the exploration of the routes to Ayutthaya by first Portuguese settlers, as well as various academic seminars. The Ambassador also agreed with Foreign Minister Kasit that globalization 500 years ago led to more contact and connectivity between the two countries, the most evident being the Portuguese traits in some Thai dessert. Yet, there are still room for more cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the areas of trade, tourism, culture and technological know-how.
To commemorate this auspicious occasion this year, the governments of both Thailand and Portugal had organized year long activities. Besides those in the celebration mentioned above, other main activities include the presentation of the Thai Pavilion (Sala Thai) as a symbol of long lasting friendship to Portugal, Thai media visit to Portugal, Thai cultural performance in Portugal, the launching of a book on the First Thai-Portugal Treaty, the friendly football match between the Thai National Youth Team and the Sporting Club of Portugal, the establishment of a Thai Corner at the Far Eastern Museum in Lisbon, academic seminar on Thai-Portuguese relations at Chulalongkorn University and the inauguration of the commemorative plaque depicting the Thai-Portuguese Community at Immaculate Conception Church, Bangkok.
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