Edoardo Bonatti
29 giugno 2021
Chirdchu Raktabutr has been Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to Italy since 2019. He can boast a long diplomatic career in the service of his country: he has been a member of the diplomatic corps since 1984 and has represented Thailand in Indonesia, Germany, and Brunei.
Testo disponibile in italiano (PDF – 247 KB)
InvestorVisa: Could you please give us a quick rundown of your experiences as a diplomat and as Ambassador to Italy in particular?
Raktabutr: My diplomatic career began in 1984. Although I worked abroad for Thai diplomatic missions in Jakarta, Berlin, and Brunei, I spent most of my time working at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok.
Nowadays, Italy and Thailand cooperate and collaborate superbly on many topics, and bilateral trade and investment are very significant. Leonardo’s Helicopter Division supplies its products and expertise to the country, helping Thai aviation strengthen. In Thailand, Vittoria owns a bicycle tires production plant, as Ducati does. Thai’s Central Group is investing in La Rinascente in Italy, and more investments are on the way. Last year, FS International, a subsidiary of Italy’s Ferrovie dello Stato railways, won the tender to operate one of the fast train lines connecting Bangkok’s international airport to the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
About 7,000 Thais are living in Italy, and even more Italians living in Thailand. Every day, as we move from intergovernmental to interpersonal relations, our bond gets more intense, and I hope to see it grow even more. When I arrived in Rome in 2019, I made it my priority to develop bilateral relations further through both governmental and individual initiatives. COVID-19 has significantly delayed our plan of action. I am doing my best to keep my Embassy operative during the pandemic, supporting both Thais and Italians facing the consequences of the virus and dealing with preventive measures. This year, as infection rates decrease every day, I would like to do more to contribute to Thai-Italian relations.
In which ways do the Embassy, and the Thai diplomatic network as a whole, usually operate to foster economic and trade relations with other countries?
The Embassy is working in close collaboration with Team Thailand representatives in Italy, namely the Office of the Defence and Naval Attaché, the Office of Agricultural Affairs, the Tourism Authority in Thailand (TAT) Office, and the Thai Trade Office. Together, we strive to fulfil our objectives that encompass very different issues such as security, trade, tourism, culture, or individuals’ needs. We also have the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) Paris Office, one of the Team Thailand representatives in Italy, to take care of investment projects.
Thailand and Italy recently celebrated the 150th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. During the celebrations, bilateral missions greatly intensified. How has this economic and political relationship evolved in the last few years?
Italy and Thailand have a long-standing relationship. Our two countries signed the first Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in 1868 when Thailand was still known as Siam, establishing our formal diplomatic ties 153 years ago. Nonetheless, Thai Ambassadors reached Europe for the first time long before that. The first visit to Rome dates back to 1688. We know that the Thai delegation paid a visit to the Vatican, but we do not know much about any other activity. Therefore, our countries officially date the beginning of our modern diplomatic relations to 1868.
Throughout our history, Italy and Thailand enjoyed close and cordial relations. Our shared interests and worldview were able to withstand the test of time. Through thick and thin, there was never a time when our political and diplomatic relations worsened. Trade and commerce flourished right from the start and, in the early twentieth century, Italian architects and engineers were essential partners in Thailand’s modernization efforts. Mr Mario Tamagno, an architect from Turin, arrived in Thailand in 1900. He designed and built many important buildings in Thailand, many of which are still in use today. Professor Corrado Feroci from Florence moved to Thailand in 1923. His works of art are memorable and well known in Thailand. He was the founder of Silpakorn University, one of the famous state universities in Bangkok. Both are just an example of how closely Italian and Thai personalities worked together in the last century.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations, Thailand and Italy’s top officials of each country took part in high-level diplomatic missions. In February 2018, the Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, the Honorable Angelino Alfano visited Thailand; in March H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, reciprocated by visiting Italy. Both sides had a productive discussion on security, economic, and cultural cooperation.
On 13 May 2021, Thailand and Italy co-chaired the second Thai-Italian Political Consultations via video conference. Both sides exchanged updates on the COVID-19 situation while reaffirming the importance of multilateralism in addressing future challenges. Other potential areas of cooperation, such as trade and investments, particularly in the context of the EEC, were discussed. The debate also covered the potential partnership to build a sustainable economic recovery through Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model, infrastructure, logistics, STI, and energy matters. The Thai side also expressed its willingness to host the third Thai-Italian Political Consultations in Bangkok next year. All this is a testament to our long-standing and cordial relations.
Thailand has not been affected by the pandemic until recently. How has the country coped with it over the past year? Have there been any significant changes in its approach to international affairs?
The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has approved more rigorous disease control measures to curb the recent April outbreak. The rules are based on the severity of the situation in each locality: Thai provinces will follow a tiered system to better control the spread of the disease. Although the government did not announce a lockdown, extra precaution is necessary. Everyone is required to wear a facemask in public. Other disease control measures include a prohibition on large public gatherings, shortened opening hours for restaurants and shopping malls, as well as the temporary closure of high-risk venues, such as entertainment venues and educational institutions. In addition to disease control measures, the government has been accelerating vaccine rollout. We aim to obtain 100 million doses to inoculate 70% of the population, about 50 million people, by the end of this year. The government prioritised health workers, other frontline workers at risk of contracting the virus, people over 60 years old or living in high-risk areas, and the chronically ill.
The government keeps on promoting a “Whole-Of-Society Approach” to overcome this pandemic. The private sector will support government efforts to tackle the outbreak, boost economic recovery, and assist in the distribution, logistics, communication, and acquisition of the vaccine. So far, even with the recent infection resurgence, Thailand battled COVID-19 quite effectively thanks to the deployment of more than one million Village Health Volunteers throughout the country, which helped raise awareness of sanitary and health measures to curb the pandemic. Cooperating with other countries will be crucial if Thais want to control the virus effectively. I hope that Thailand will be able to keep the virus under control until the vaccination campaign yields positive results.
Thailand is a very influential player in South East Asia, an increasingly important economic hub, also thanks to the global weight that ASEAN membership brings. What impact has this increased regional integration had on the Thai economy, its growth and investment strategies?
Despite the disruption caused by the pandemic, the Thai economy is expected to grow by 2.5-3.5% this year. Thailand remains an attractive investment destination with improving business indicators. The country ranks 21st in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, 44th in WIPO’s Global Innovation Index, and 57th in the World Economic Forum’s E-Government Development Index.
The Thai government has a policy called Thailand 4.0. It seeks to transform Thailand into an economy based on high value-added, innovative, and technology-driven activities. The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) lies at the core of this strategy and encourages investment in twelve targeted industries such as next-generation automotive, smart electronics, and innovative food products. Thanks to our effective disease control measures, resilient health, food, and agriculture sectors, and strategic location at the connecting spot of the region, Thailand is in an ideal and safe position to promote the EEC as a prime investment destination in the ASEAN area.
Since the inauguration of the EEC project in 2017, significant progress has been made. In 2020, the EEC reached 55% of its five-year 1.7 trillion THB investment target. Meanwhile, three out of six contracts of our Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure development projects have been signed. We anticipate that the rest will soon be finalized. Given the impact of the pandemic and post COVID-19 trends, the EEC will focus on driving investments in three emerging industrial clusters: digital and emerging technologies (Thailand will be the first ASEAN country to adopt commercial 5G), health and wellness and smart logistics. The Thai government recently introduced the Bio-Circular-Green Economy, or the BCG Model, in the national agenda. It will be our chief strategy to promote economic recovery and development following the pandemic.
In a rule-based multilateral international economic cooperation framework, Thailand is focusing on increasing and strengthening cooperation to improve physical and digital infrastructure connectivity within and beyond the region. Better cooperation will also help capacity building in the event of future global disruptions. Thailand will chair the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) from 2021 to 2022 and APEC in 2022. Our commitments to these multilateral organizations attest to the country’s willingness to take a constructive role in creating a post-COVID economic recovery and development plan.
Italy became an ASEAN development partner in September 2020. Since then, there were many initiatives to improve ASEAN-Italy relations, such as online meetings/conferences and training courses covering ASEAN’s three pillars: political, economic, and socio-cultural. I trust that the ASEAN-Italy Development Partnership will bring mutual benefits to both countries and peoples.
Thai investments in Italy are usually tied to large operations and big companies. Could this inclination be revised by bringing together SMEs from the two countries and finally fulfil the potential of the Italian-Thai partnership?
Small and medium-sized enterprises are already represented in our trade and financial relations. The volume of trade from January to March reached 1,104.2 million USD. Thailand imports machinery and parts, miscellaneous goods, electronic machines and parts, chemicals, and metal products from Italy while exporting air conditioning and parts, vehicles and parts, rubber products, pet foods, and motorbikes and parts.
The BOI approved investment projects submitted by Italian companies and entrepreneurs: they concern various products such as software and digital content, machinery parts, and e-commerce. I believe that Italian authorities should put more effort into the promotion of trade and investments to increase business opportunities. On the other hand, the exchange of best practices with their Thai equals can be a way for Italian SMEs to strengthen bilateral collaboration.
Do you think that a tool such as the Italy-Thailand Business Forum, which brings together the top management of forty large groups (with a total annual turnover of over USD 500 billion) from the two countries, could help trading and financial relations between them? Is the Embassy working with this kind of institution in any capacity?
The Italy-Thailand Business Forum has been instrumental in increasing the volume of trade and investments between the two countries. A textbook case would be the Central Group’s investment in La Rinascente in Italy. While it surely contributed to the Italian economy significantly, it also increased Thailand’s visibility amongst the Italian public. The Embassy is, within its capacity, ready to support not only Forum’s initiatives but also those promoted by other business organizations.
Do you think that a policy of special visas for investors such as the one offered by Italy could benefit both the country adopting it and others as their relations grow deeper? Can such a visa program open new business opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs and maybe encourage them to reconsider Italy’s worth as an economic partner?
Special visas for investors can certainly deepen our economic relations. In the aftermath of COVID-19, the Thai BOI has launched several measures, similar to the Italian ones, to support investors and attract more investments to essential sectors. Such measures contain an extension to the deadline for tax incentives applications, machinery importation, and complete operation start-up procedures, as well as increased support to the health sector. The BOI also introduced SMART, a new type of visa aimed at highly skilled workers and investors to encourage their participation in the development of Thailand’s industries. The Embassy has also simplified the procedures for issuing business visas to Italian and foreign investors looking to travel to Thailand.
Italy offers the same kind of visa to foreign patrons who intend to donate to preserve Italy’s cultural heritage. What relationship do Thais citizens have with Italian culture? Are there specific Embassy programs to support intercultural dialogue?
As mentioned earlier, Thailand-Italy bilateral relations have been flourishing since the beginning of the last century. Italian art and Thai modernisation go hand in hand: since then, the Embassy has been committed to promoting intercultural dialogue through its initiatives. Recently, the Embassy hosted many cultural and social projects: the Thai Festival, focusing on Thai food, products and culture; a workshop on the Thai textile industry; and the youth project realized with the collaboration of the ASEAN Committee in Rome (ACR), the Italian MFA, and Global Action.
Furthermore, the Embassy is currently cooperating with the Thai language chair of Ca’ Foscari University. Venice also hosts the Biennale: Thailand has been a proud contributor to the exhibition since 2010. From 22 May to 21 November 2021, Thailand will attend the 17th International Architecture Exhibition with its “Man and Elephant” pavilion. Its concept seeks to answer the question posed by the exhibition’s title: “How will we live together?”.
The depth of the cultural heritage of both countries is reflected in the World’s Best Countries for Cultural Heritage Influence 2021, the ranking compiled by the CEO World Magazine, in which Italy is ranked first and Thailand fifth. In terms of gastronomy, Thailand can boast the Massaman curry, the best food in the world of the year according to CNN Travel. Finally, as far as tourism is concerned, Italian citizens can stay in Thailand for up to 45 days (including the quarantine period) without obtaining a visa. I hope to expand our cultural cooperation further: there is still much to explore.
Following the last year, do you think that the Embassy should somehow change its approach to promoting trade and investments abroad? Is there room for improvement in this area?
The Embassy has never ceased to organise events to promote trade and investment in both Italy and Thailand. The pandemic has unfortunately undermined initiatives that rely on physical presence. We, therefore, had to change our work practices, transitioning from the physical to the digital space. However, once the pandemic is over, our in-person activity will resume, as usual, providing an excellent opportunity to meet and work with our counterparts in person.
