SOCIETY 368 / 2015

DIPLOMATIE
THAILAND
fore we were able to do it. This beer is not really
available here except in Thai restaurants. For the
best Thai cuisine in Vienna, you should visit the
Thai Residence. We try hard to make really good
Thai food here in the residence as well and always
invite many people.
What is the trade balance between Austria
and Thailand?
There already is a lot of trade between Austria
and Thailand but in the future there will hopefully
be even more. Thai companies are already
buying hotels and department stores in other
countries in Europe like Germany, Italy and Denmark.
Rinascente in Italy for instance is owned
by the Thai Central Group. The trade balance between
the two countries of about 700 million a
year is not very high; I would like it to be higher.
Austria doesn’t import Thai products like clothing
and textiles directly but always through Germany
or Netherlands. The major direct import
is Swarovski. We export Thai products via third
countries also electrical products as well as latex
gloves, spare parts for automobiles and processed
food and fruits. Thailand has the largest automobile
industry in South East Asia, a major producer
for Japanese and German cars and assembly
parts. Our country is the number one exporter
for small four wheel pick-up trucks. Big pickup
trucks exceeding 2.5 tons are produced by the US.
»Semperit
manufacture
surgical gloves
made from
Thai rubber.
«
Arthayudh
Srisamoot
CURRICULUM
VITAE
H.E. Ambassador
Arthayudth Srisamoot was
born in 29 December 1962.
He studied government
and economics at Monmoth
College and completed
his studies with a
Master of Arts in economic
policy at the University of
Chicago in 1984. He started
his diplomatic career as
Third Secretary at the Department
of ASEAN affairs
in 1988. From 1992-1996 he
served as First Secretary
to the Thai Embassy in
Manila. From 2002-2004
H.E. Srisamoot was Counsellor
at the permanent
mission of Thailand to the
United Nations in Geneva.
In May 2007, he became
Deputy Director-General
for ASEAN Thailand. From
2012-2014 he was Director
General at the Department
of ASEAN affairs. Since
November 2014, he has
served as the Ambassador
Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary to Austria,
the Slovak Republic and
Slovenia.
What was your former post, before you came
to Austria?
I was the Director General of the Department
of ASEAN for three years where I had a lot of
meetings with other ASEAN countries. Before
that, I worked in Vancouver as a Consul General.
There is a strong Asian community in Canada but
more Chinese people than Thai people. As a country
it is similar to Austria but much bigger. Even
before that I was in Geneva at the United Nations
and before that I was in my first post in Manila in
the Philippines.
Can you tell us more about your position as
Chair of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs?
At the moment I am the chairman of the UN
Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Cooperation to
contact drug problems is now very important.
The CND this year took action on thirteen substances
for international control. Some of these
chemicals have industrial and pharmaceutical
benefits, but we have to monitor how it is used.
Next year in April the World Drug Summit or UN-
GASS 2016 will be held in New York and we are
now preparing substantive topics for this summit.
This is also important for sustainable development.
We are encouraging alternative development
in Thailand and elsewhere. In some areas,
where they used to grow poppy or marihuana we
want to give them crop substitutions like fruits,
nuts, corn, coffee, tea. As part of our effort to
combat this problem and contribute to UNGASS
in New York, Thailand is also hosting the ICAD
conference in November 2015 for alternative development.
And a lot of countries like Afghanistan,
Columbia, Pakistan, and Peru will be able
to benefit from these experiences and shared best
practices. IKEA is already supporting this concept
by selling furniture that is made out of products
that was grown on previous drug fields. The CND
will continue to have preparatory meetings in December
2015 and March 2016 in Vienna.
What are the future projects you are planning
during your post in Austria?
Swarovski, Siemens, Red Bull – these are a
lot of high level co-operations that we hope to
strengthen and expand in the future. Sustainable
development, music and tourism are all areas
which I would like to fortify furthermore. In September
we will have four fashion designers from
Thailand, participating in the MQ Vienna Fashion
Week. We also want to promote Thai silk design.
In the upcoming years we would also like to participate
more in the Vienna balls like the Summer
Festival and Imperial Ball by showcasing Thai
jewellery, including participation at Fete Imperial
at the Spanish Horse Riding School and Concordia
Ball. We also try to provide education about
Thailand to children who are half Thai and half
Austrian, who are born and raised here but don’t
know much about Thai culture. We teach them
the Thai language and about their history. •
SOCIETY 2_2015 | 39