Bangkok as a hub for global diplomacy
Re: “Turning Bangkok into Geneva of Asia”, Regional Perspective, yesterday.
In a world of global vulnerabilities, perplexities and discontinuities, the column by Kavi Chongkittavorn is highly topical.
No sustainable solutions to global problems can be found without the constructive intervention of multilateral diplomacy.
The United Nations permanent community in Thailand is more diverse than in most countries, because Bangkok is already a major UN diplomatic centre. Diplomats have even nicknamed our city “the Geneva of Asia”.
The Thai capital is a significant hub for multilateral diplomacy, hosting a wide range of global and regional organisations. The first of them – the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap), has 62 full and associate member-bodies, making it the largest regional institution on our planet and the only one in which all five permanent members of the Security Council are full members.
The already promising connection between the magic of multilateral diplomacy and the City of Angels could be strengthened by boosting the number of prestigious global and regional conferences organised in Bangkok.
We have a precious opportunity to build on the Eastern wisdom embodied in the expression “credibility through visibility”, with the capital of Thailand offering a persuasive example.
Ioan Voicu
