Speech by Dr. Manaspas Xuto, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the Opening of the Lecture to Commemorate the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Turkey, 11 November 2008, 17.00 hrs. - 18.00 hrs., at Naradhip Auditorium
His Excellency Ambassador CinarAldemir,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf of His Excellency Mr. Sompong Amornvivat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, I gladly extend to all of you a warm welcome to this special Lecture on “Determinants of the Turkish Foreign Policy: Continuity and Changes.” This Lecture is being held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Republic of Turkey.
I also wish to express my appreciation to the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey and the Department of European Affairs for their joint efforts in organising this Lecture. Special thanks go to Associate Professor Dr. Cagri Erhan of the Research Centre of the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara University for taking time off from his busy schedule to be with us today and to share with us his profound knowledge and expertise on Turkish foreign policy.
From our perspective, Turkey lies at a strategic crossroads — where two continents, Asia and Europe, meet. Turkey is also where many cultures and civilisations come together. I believe that both these factors have influenced Turkish foreign policy — more of which will be illustrated during today’s Lecture.
We also see Turkey as one of the most suitable countries for young Thai Muslims to further their studies. In this particular regard, the Turkish Government has kindly been providing a number of scholarships for Thai students to study in Turkey. The Thai-Turkish Friendship Foundation, with Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn as Honorary Chair, also works with the Turkish Government, through the Turkish Embassy here in Bangkok, to provide scholarships for young Thai students in the four southernmost provinces of Thailand to further their studies in Turkey. I wish to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation for Turkey’s magnanimity.
On bilateral economic relations, two-way trade has developed smoothly and steadily, with trade volume reaching nearly one billion US dollars in 2007. There are certain areas, such as Halal Food, in which both our countries could explore the possibility of closer cooperation.
I hope that the forthcoming Fourth Meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation could be held some time next year. I thank the Turkish Government for offering to host this Meeting in Ankara.
I am also very pleased to learn that, this month, Turkish Airlines will increase flights from Istanbul to Bangkok from 10 to 14 flights a week, which means two flights daily. We welcome more and greater contacts between our two countries, especially at the people-to-people and business levels.
On multilateral cooperation, Thailand and Turkey join hands on various global issues. Turkey has been active in many forums, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, for which Turkey is one of the founding members, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or OIC. Thailand also appreciates the role of Turkey in initiating the Alliance of Civilisations, or AOC, within the framework of the United Nations in collaboration with Spain. The Alliance aims to promote trust and understanding between diverse communities, particularly between Muslim and Western societies. Thailand fully supports this initiative. In fact, I headed the Thai Delegation to the last AOC in Madrid last January. We also wish Turkey all the best for the on-going negotiations to become a member of the European Union.
As a member and the current Chair of ASEAN, Thailand deeply appreciates and most welcomes Turkey’s forthcoming accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. We also acknowledge with appreciation Turkey’s wish to start Free Trade Agreement negotiations with ASEAN. We look forward to closer cooperation between Turkey and this region, including particularly closer ties between our two countries.
On behalf of the Royal Thai Government, I wish to reiterate our commitment to working for a broader scope and deeper relationship with Turkey.
I believe that what we are about to learn today from Dr. ?agri Erhan will give us a much better understanding of Turkish foreign policy. I hope you will enjoy his lecture.
Thank you.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Press Division, Department of Information Tel.(02) 643-5170
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