Chaturon Chaiyakham, the new Thai ambassador in Ankara, announced that he hopes to establish a strategic partnership between Thailand and Turkey by 2028. He identified cooperation in the defense industry as one of the key priorities of this partnership.
Experiences of the New Ambassador
Chaiyakham, who was appointed to this position after presenting his credentials to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, mentioned his positive impressions from his trip to Turkey in a conversation with reporters. He stated that he first traveled to Istanbul 15 years ago to participate in the third Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia, and his experiences in Turkey had been limited until recently.
After visiting Ankara, he was amazed by Turkey's advancements, especially in the automotive and electronics sectors. Chaiyakham also noted that despite the limited interactions between the people of Thailand and Turkey, both countries are considered tourist destinations for each other.
Commercial and Tourism Potential
Chaiyakham pointed out the low volume of trade between the two countries, stating that it is only about 2 billion dollars a year. He emphasized the need to increase this volume and added that tourism could also have more areas for growth. According to him, several programs and events could be held in 2028 to commemorate the anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He also referred to a decision made at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' meeting on July 21 to establish a dialogue partnership between Turkey and ASEAN, stating that high-level contacts could be organized in this regard to mark the anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Thailand.
Chaiyakham mentioned Istanbul Airport's position as one of the main aviation hubs in Europe and stated that Thailand also acts as a hub in Southeast Asia. He referred to the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement between Turkish and Thai airlines, adding that this agreement could help improve mutual understanding between the people of the two countries.
The new Thai ambassador also emphasized cooperation in the defense industry, stating that Thailand supports high-level officials visiting to meet with Turkish defense industry companies.
