UK and Thailand
Associations
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Student's Corner
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The Bowring Treaty of 1855 agreed to establish a British Consular presence in Siam. The first resident British envoy to Siam arrived in 1875. We have had constant diplomatic relations with first Siam and later Thailand ever since. The UK/Thailand bilateral relationship is close. The UK is perhaps the best-known in Thailand of all the European countries. There is a sense of shared traditional values between the two nations, which manifests itself in close educational and cultural contacts. The UK and Thailand are partners in developing the Asia-Europe Meeting. Thailand hosted the inaugural ASEM in 1996 and the UK the second in 1998. The UK, Thailand and the European Commission are co-partnering an ASEM project to combat money laundering in Asia. Thai representation in the UK - The Royal Thai Embassy in the UK opened in July 1882, when Prince Prisdang was received in audience by Queen Victoria, at which he presented his credentials as Envoy of the King of Siam. The current Thai Ambassador to the UK is His Excellency Mr Vikrom Koompirochana. He arrived in Britain in January 2003. UK overseas mission in Thailand - The British Embassy in Bangkok is staffed by 31 UK-based diplomats and 116 locally engaged staff, covering political, economic, commercial, consular and visa issues. The current British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand is His Excellency Mr David Fall. He arrived in Thailand in August 2003. The British Ambassador to Thailand is also accredited to Laos. UK Development Assistance - The Department for International Development (DFID) does not have a bilateral aid programme for Thailand. However small scale UK assistance is provided through the Small Grant Scheme (administered by the British Embassy Bangkok) and support for individual projects under Foreign and Commonwealth Office programme budgets. Recently support has been given to projects focusing on child rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, landmine clearance, refugee issues, peacekeeping training and combating transnational crime. Trade and Investment with the UK - The UK is Thailand's largest export market in Europe. Imports from Thailand in 2003 were worth £1.69 billion (up 4.9% on 2002 - £1.61 billion). UK exports to Thailand in 2003 were £573m (up 7.5% on 2002 - £532m). The UK's top exports to Thailand include medicinal and pharmaceutical products, electrical machinery and appliances, specialised industrial machinery and beverages. The UK's top imports from Thailand include electrical machinery and appliances, office machines and equipment, road vehicles, telecommunications, and apparel and clothing accessories. The UK was the largest European investor in Thailand in 2003. Long-established companies, such as Shell, BP, Unilever, Standard Chartered and HSBC have been joined more recently by Tesco, Boots, Thames Water, Anglian Water, International Power, Orange, Barclays Capital, Triumph, Cromwell Tools, Isotron and Grampian Foods. Investments by these companies in recent years have amounted to over £2 billion. There is also considerable trade in services. Thailand is a key market in South East Asia for UK companies. UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) work with commercial staff at the Embassy to enhance the competitiveness of companies in the UK through overseas sales and investment, and quality foreign direct investment. UKTI is also keen to promote UK privatisation experience in support of Thai plans to privatise state enterprises. Prime Minister Thaksin's foreign policy has focused primarily on promoting Thai economic and business interests through closer economic links within Asia. He has pursued a dual-track policy of encouraging self-sufficiency through the promotion of indigenous Asian strengths, while also welcoming foreign investment. Mixed messages with nationalistic overtones are therefore common, but in practice the Thaksin government has done little to cause real problems for foreign investors including those from the UK.
Cultural Relations with the UK
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