On 5 July 2010, the first day of his official visit to the Federal Republic of Germany, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with Dr. Guido Westerwelle, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dirk Niebel, Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and Mr. Rainer Br?derle, Minister of Economics and Technology (BMWI). Earlier in the morning, the Foreign Minister also met with the ASEAN Parliamentary Group and ASEAN Ambassadors based in Berlin.
At the joint press conference after his meeting with the Federal Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister Kasit congratulated the German people for its newly elected President. The Foreign Minister wished the President every success in leading Germany forward as an important member of the European Union and of the international community. He also congratulated Germany for its success thus far at the World Cup and wished it continued success in reaching the zenith of the competitions.
As for his meetings with the German side, Foreign Minister Kasit said that he had provided a briefing about the latest situation in Thailand, including developments related to the Prime Minister’s five-point reconciliation plan. Given the progress made, he believed that the various committee established should be able to make recommendations on the reform process by the end of 2010, with a national referendum on constitutional amendments held in early 2011, leading to the dissolution of parliament, early elections and the formation of a new government by spring of 2011. In this connection, the Foreign Minister thanked the German Government and its people for their understanding of the political situation in Thailand and their encouragement for the future undertaking of Thailand in becoming a full-fledged democracy. While reiterating Thailand’s firm commitment to the principles of the rule of law, transparency and participatory democracy, the Foreign Minister said that Thailand would like to learn and benefit from Germany’s best practices regarding its own democratization process.
On economic issues, Foreign Minister Kasit assured his German counterparts that Thailand remained an open society with a market economy that is business friendly and protects intellectual property rights. Thailand therefore welcomed German businesses and looked forward to working closer together to promote a green and a knowledge-based economy.
During his discussions with the German side, trilateral cooperation -- whereby Thailand and Germany would cooperate together to extend technical assistance to third countries in the region -- was also discussed, particularly in areas where Thailand has expertise and using the Kingdom as an educational hub to help reduce the developmental gap within the region and beyond.
At the press conference, Federal Foreign Minister Westerwelle noted that Thailand and Germany have long enjoyed good relations and that various events would be held during the next couple of years to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Germany in 2012. Regarding the political situation in Thailand, the German Government and people had been carefully observing developments in the Kingdom and supported a sustainable solution in accordance with the Thai Prime Minister’s five-point reconciliation plan.
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