Building Bridges of Friendship through 160 Years Thai-German Encounters and Cooperation

arranged on the occasion of 160 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Thailand and Germany

by the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University

in cooperation with the Asian Governance Foundation (AGF) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation

1 October 2022, 9.00 AM. – 05.00 PM., Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort

BACKGROUND

While contacts between the peoples of Siam and Germany date back hundreds of years, the signing of a treaty of amity in 1862, during the rule of King Mongkut, became the basis of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Germany, back then a federation of multiple German states led by the Kingdom of Prussia.

The treaty added an official frame to both countries’ well established and dynamic relations. During the following decades, Germany, like other European nations, and the modern Siamese nation-state in the making increasingly engaged in multiple encounters and cooperation. Areas in which these encounters took place to develop notable contributions to a crucial period of Siam’s modernization during the second half of the 19^th and first half of the 20^thcentury include German language and culture, military education, legal studies, architecture and engineering, to name only a few.

Cooperation created similarities, similarities closeness and appreciation on both sides, and over the decades Siam, which later became Thailand, and Germany developed a rich and dynamic web of relations with many impressive junctures while generations of Thai and Germans enjoyed participating in this lasting and fleckless friendship.

Until present time, these multi-layered relations have continued to develop and expand. Thai alumni of German universities are teaching at Thailand´s best faculties and their students continue to receive a part of their higher education in Germany. The importance Germany is attributing to Thailand is reflected by the number of German institutions being active in the country. Among them are cultural mediators such as the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Goethe-Institut, the five political party foundations or bilateral projects such as the German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG) at Thammasat University.

Among the many joint educational projects is the German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) project, a vocational education and training program set up in 2013, and last year, the German Research Foundation launched a funding program for joint virus research projects.

In the economic field, more than 600 German companies employ around 200,000 people in Thailand, among some of the biggest German companies but also German enterprises that have been established in Thailand at the very beginnings of the modern Thailand, such as B. Grimm. Over the past five years the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety has funded the Thai-German Climate Programme that aims at contributing to the decarbonization of the Thai economy.

It is against this background and on occasion of the celebrations of 160 years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Germany, that the organizers offer everyone interested a colorful day, full of interesting information, personal exchanges, and the opportunity to meet old friends and get to know new ones.

The topics of the seminar and talk program include aspects of the cultural exchange between Thailand and Germany, German influences on Thai constitutionalism, and Thai-German cooperation in science and economy.

TENTATIVE AGENDA

9:00-9.30 am                     Welcoming words

H.E. Georg Schmidt, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Thailand (tbc)

Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University

Dr. Axel Neubert, Director, Hanns Seidel Foundation, Laos/Thailand Office

9:30-11.00 am                  Presentations: Cultural exchange and engagement

Prof. Dr. Ampha Otrakul, Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University (in Thai)

“สัมพันธไมตรีไทย-เยอรมัน 160 ปี ที่ดำเนินมาอย่างดี (160 Jahre thai-deutsche Beziehungen: Stationen einer Freundschaft)” (in Thai)

Prof. Dr. Chetana Navagajara, Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University

“The Small Man’s Contribution to Thai-German Relations”

11:00-11:30 am                Coffee Break

11:30 am – 1:00 pm        Roundtable: Thai-German cooperation – Cross-cultural experiences and reflections

H.E. Kasit Piromya, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand (tbc)

Gen. Ruangwit Srinuannad, President, Association of Former Thai Students in Germany (tbc)

Prof. Dr. Karl E. Weber, Asian Institute of Technology

Frederic Spohr, Head of Thailand/Myanmar Office Bangkok, Friedrich Naumann Foundation

1:00-3:00 pm                    Lunch break with Screening of “Likay” Thai folk theatre “Die goldene Meergrundel (The golden Meergrundel)” (in German), German Department, Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University

3:00-4:30 pm                    Expert discussion: German influences on Thai Constitutionalism

Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), Faculty of Law, Thammasat University

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Torpong Kittiyanupong, Lecturer, Faculty of Law (in Thai)

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Banjerd Singkaneti, Faculty of Law, National Institute of Development Administration (tbc)

4:30 pm                              Concluding remarks

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