SOCIETY 368 / 2015
Nr. 368 I Nr. 2 - 2015
Nr. 368 I Nr. 2 - 2015
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DIPLOMATIE<br />
THAILAND<br />
fore we were able to do it. This beer is not really<br />
available here except in Thai restaurants. For the<br />
best Thai cuisine in Vienna, you should visit the<br />
Thai Residence. We try hard to make really good<br />
Thai food here in the residence as well and always<br />
invite many people.<br />
What is the trade balance between Austria<br />
and Thailand?<br />
There already is a lot of trade between Austria<br />
and Thailand but in the future there will hopefully<br />
be even more. Thai companies are already<br />
buying hotels and department stores in other<br />
countries in Europe like Germany, Italy and Denmark.<br />
Rinascente in Italy for instance is owned<br />
by the Thai Central Group. The trade balance between<br />
the two countries of about 700 million a<br />
year is not very high; I would like it to be higher.<br />
Austria doesn’t import Thai products like clothing<br />
and textiles directly but always through Germany<br />
or Netherlands. The major direct import<br />
is Swarovski. We export Thai products via third<br />
countries also electrical products as well as latex<br />
gloves, spare parts for automobiles and processed<br />
food and fruits. Thailand has the largest automobile<br />
industry in South East Asia, a major producer<br />
for Japanese and German cars and assembly<br />
parts. Our country is the number one exporter<br />
for small four wheel pick-up trucks. Big pickup<br />
trucks exceeding 2.5 tons are produced by the US.<br />
»Semperit<br />
manufacture<br />
surgical gloves<br />
made from<br />
Thai rubber.<br />
«<br />
Arthayudh<br />
Srisamoot<br />
CURRICULUM<br />
VITAE<br />
H.E. Ambassador<br />
Arthayudth Srisamoot was<br />
born in 29 December 1962.<br />
He studied government<br />
and economics at Monmoth<br />
College and completed<br />
his studies with a<br />
Master of Arts in economic<br />
policy at the University of<br />
Chicago in 1984. He started<br />
his diplomatic career as<br />
Third Secretary at the Department<br />
of ASEAN affairs<br />
in 1988. From 1992-1996 he<br />
served as First Secretary<br />
to the Thai Embassy in<br />
Manila. From 2002-2004<br />
H.E. Srisamoot was Counsellor<br />
at the permanent<br />
mission of Thailand to the<br />
United Nations in Geneva.<br />
In May 2007, he became<br />
Deputy Director-General<br />
for ASEAN Thailand. From<br />
2012-2014 he was Director<br />
General at the Department<br />
of ASEAN affairs. Since<br />
November 2014, he has<br />
served as the Ambassador<br />
Extraordinary and<br />
Plenipotentiary to Austria,<br />
the Slovak Republic and<br />
Slovenia.<br />
What was your former post, before you came<br />
to Austria?<br />
I was the Director General of the Department<br />
of ASEAN for three years where I had a lot of<br />
meetings with other ASEAN countries. Before<br />
that, I worked in Vancouver as a Consul General.<br />
There is a strong Asian community in Canada but<br />
more Chinese people than Thai people. As a country<br />
it is similar to Austria but much bigger. Even<br />
before that I was in Geneva at the United Nations<br />
and before that I was in my first post in Manila in<br />
the Philippines.<br />
Can you tell us more about your position as<br />
Chair of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs?<br />
At the moment I am the chairman of the UN<br />
Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Cooperation to<br />
contact drug problems is now very important.<br />
The CND this year took action on thirteen substances<br />
for international control. Some of these<br />
chemicals have industrial and pharmaceutical<br />
benefits, but we have to monitor how it is used.<br />
Next year in April the World Drug Summit or UN-<br />
GASS 2016 will be held in New York and we are<br />
now preparing substantive topics for this summit.<br />
This is also important for sustainable development.<br />
We are encouraging alternative development<br />
in Thailand and elsewhere. In some areas,<br />
where they used to grow poppy or marihuana we<br />
want to give them crop substitutions like fruits,<br />
nuts, corn, coffee, tea. As part of our effort to<br />
combat this problem and contribute to UNGASS<br />
in New York, Thailand is also hosting the ICAD<br />
conference in November <strong>2015</strong> for alternative development.<br />
And a lot of countries like Afghanistan,<br />
Columbia, Pakistan, and Peru will be able<br />
to benefit from these experiences and shared best<br />
practices. IKEA is already supporting this concept<br />
by selling furniture that is made out of products<br />
that was grown on previous drug fields. The CND<br />
will continue to have preparatory meetings in December<br />
<strong>2015</strong> and March 2016 in Vienna.<br />
What are the future projects you are planning<br />
during your post in Austria?<br />
Swarovski, Siemens, Red Bull – these are a<br />
lot of high level co-operations that we hope to<br />
strengthen and expand in the future. Sustainable<br />
development, music and tourism are all areas<br />
which I would like to fortify furthermore. In September<br />
we will have four fashion designers from<br />
Thailand, participating in the MQ Vienna Fashion<br />
Week. We also want to promote Thai silk design.<br />
In the upcoming years we would also like to participate<br />
more in the Vienna balls like the Summer<br />
Festival and Imperial Ball by showcasing Thai<br />
jewellery, including participation at Fete Imperial<br />
at the Spanish Horse Riding School and Concordia<br />
Ball. We also try to provide education about<br />
Thailand to children who are half Thai and half<br />
Austrian, who are born and raised here but don’t<br />
know much about Thai culture. We teach them<br />
the Thai language and about their history. •<br />
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