Thailand-France Relations Moving Into Higher Gear With Visits, Innovation Diplomacy

A shared focus on innovation and advanced technologies to boost trade and investment is giving centuries-old bilateral cooperation a new impulse. 

“Relations between Thailand and France date back more than 300 years since the reign of King Narai the Great and King Louis XIV when the two sides first exchanged ambassadors, and over that period they have developed into the comprehensive cooperation we see now,” said H.E. Mr Tana Weskosith, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the French Republic. “Today's complex geopolitical and economic challenges have led Thailand and France to deepen their cooperation.”

The realization of that new direction came with the signing in Paris in February 2022 by the two Foreign Ministers of the first Roadmap for Thai-French Relations. The successful conclusion of the said document, hence, sets a clear framework to elevate the bilateral relations to a strategic partnership by 2024 by focusing on national development in the new global context and emphasizing cooperation in the areas of science, technology, and innovation. The agreement also affirms the two governments’ support for private-sector cooperation through existing bilateral trade and investment forums.

Soon thereafter, in June 2022, a French business delegation led by François Corbin, Vice President of MEDEF International (MEDEFi), a business group representing large French companies established abroad, visited Bangkok where it held a fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Prayuth and participated to the 3rd annual meeting of the France-Thailand Business Forum (FTBF). 

The visit also led to exchanges with the Thailand Board of Investment and the management of the Eastern Economic Corridor Office (EEC) regarding investment opportunities located in the EEC in advanced technology sectors of interest to French investors. French companies that took part in the exchanges are active in industries such as the aerospace, automotive, rail, and renewable energy sectors.

“The visits to Thailand during 2022 first by the MEDEFi, and then by President Emmanuel Macron are of great importance in driving the Thailand-France roadmap,” Ambassador Tana said. “This is showing that French businessmen are ready to consider doing business with Thailand in the target areas specified in the roadmap and that the French government supports increased cooperation in research and development and the Thai-French Innovation Year 2023.”

Innovation diplomacy

In May, the National Innovation Agency (NIA), which is tasked with driving Thailand’s plan to turn into a regional hub for innovation-friendly investment, and Bpifrance, a French government agency dedicated to promoting the financing and development of companies in France, notably startups, signed in Paris a letter of intent to cooperate in the promotion of joint investment projects, and advanced technology, including deep tech, over the next five years.

The “Innovation Diplomacy” initiative, developed in close coordination with the Royal Thai Embassy in Paris, the French Embassy in Bangkok, and “La French Tech”, a movement that brings together investors, startups, community builders, and policymakers, is laying the foundations for the activities to be held next year under the “Thai-French Innovation Year 2023”.

The planned activities include a roadshow by Thai startups and exchanges with French counterparts during a startup and innovation week in Paris in April 2023, and French participation in the Startup x Innovation Thailand Expo (SITE) in Bangkok in June, with a focus on startups active in areas of importance for both countries, such as food innovation, aerospace, and the creative economy, according to the NIA.

“This year will mark a new chapter,” said Pun-Arj Chairatana, Executive Director of the NIA. “The innovation diplomacy between the two countries will result in the establishment of a French-Thai Innovation Platform that will enhance the relationship, in terms of investment, development of tech professionals, and allow businessmen from both countries to come together.”

In regards to aerospace, another important achievement of bilateral cooperation was the delivery in June 2022 to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency of Thailand (GISTDA) by Airbus Defence & Space of the Thailand Earth Observation System 2 or THEOS-2. 

The development program of the very high-resolution satellite, acquired under a contract signed in Paris in 2018, saw over twenty Thai engineers involved in its assembly and testing ahead of the launch scheduled for 2023. This significant transfer of technology represents a critical step in paving the way for Thailand to develop its space capability in the EEC area and to build its own small observation satellites in the near future. 

People-to-people diplomacy

During their meeting in Bangkok in November, Prime Minister Prayuth and President Macron agreed to enhance closer people-to-people ties by promoting smart sustainable tourism, safe travel, and sports, among other things, and by intensifying cooperation on professional training and education, including through the teaching of the French language in Thailand and the Thai language in France.

In regard to tourism and travel, Thailand has long been a popular destination for French tourists and as soon as the country reopened in early 2022, they started coming back to enjoy the country’s culture, arts, gastronomy and nature. From January to October 2022, 182,197 French tourists visited Thailand. 

During his trip to Bangkok, and despite the heavy meeting schedule, President Macron also had the occasion to experience first-hand and express his appreciation for Thailand’s “soft power”. 

He visited a temple where he exchanged with Buddhist monks, walked in Yaowarat Road, Bangkok’s Chinatown, and visited the Ratchadamnoen Boxing Stadium where he watched a demonstration of Muay Thai, the country’s martial art which is enjoying rising popularity around the World. President Macron also posted on his personal Instagram about his visit to the Jim Thompson House Museum, saying “The Jim Thompson Foundation Arts Center is a symbol of the link between France and Thailand as well as the diversity of cooperation that France undertakes in the Indo-Pacific region”.

As part of this continued development of bilateral relations in education, the Royal Thai Embassy in Paris is supporting Thai language studies at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO), where the language, then still known to foreigners as “Siamese”, started to be taught in 1876.

“The embassy is giving scholarships to students of the INALCO’s Thai language program to allow them to increase their knowledge and experience of Thailand through internships and research in the country,” Ambassador Thana said.

 Royal Thai Embassy - Paris, France