With a little help from our friends

In an interview with The Sunday Nation early this week, the envoy highlighted some of the major achievements during the past years.

First, Schulze says, there are currently more than 170 Thai and German university partnerships for academic training programmes in Thailand. Moreover, there are a number of initiatives that provide vocational training for a growing number of participants.

“To mark the 150th anniversary of Thai-German diplomatic relations in 2012, the dual training initiative was launched based on the renowned German system in which students/trainees study in the classroom and then get practical training on the job.”

“As it is part of Germany’s economic success we experienced great interest on the Thai side in this unique model. We also worked with Thai and German chambers of commerce and top companies to support the initiative.

“Singha, Mit Phol, Siemens, BMW, Mercedes Benz, BASF and the like are among the participants. To meet the highest standards, we also help certify the training programmes and organise training-of-trainers sessions.

“In addition, a particle accelerator machine worth about one million euro was given free of charge to the Synchrotron Light Research Institute in NakhonRatchasima to support its nuclear physic department.”

On the economic front, the envoy, who has served in Asia for the past two decades and was formerly posted to Vietnam, says Thailand remains Germany’s biggest trading partner in Asean, with bilateral trade likely to top 10 billion euros (Bt384 billion) this year, up from 8.7 billion euros in 2014. 

“There are now more than 600 German firms operating in Thailand with factories on the Eastern Seaboard and elsewhere. DHL alone employs 12,000 workers here and there are also many German SMEs.

“The automobile, chemical, machinery and infrastructure sectors are among the major areas of German businesses in Thailand. In the auto sector, I have spent the past four years trying to bring Volkswagen, the world’s No 2 and Germany’s biggest carmaker, to invest here.

“Thailand is Asean’s hub of auto production for a combined market of 600 million consumers so it’s suitable for Volkswagen, which is finalising its decision to open a major factory here.”

On the suspended Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Thailand and European Union in which Germany is the leading member, Schulze points out that Thai and EU officials had fully-fledged negotiations on this important FTA until early 2014.

“(In the wake of Thailand’s May 2014 coup), Germany has been urging the EU to resume talks on technical issues (of this pending FTA). We’ve been pushing Brussels to do so but it’s the EU’s prerogative in this matter,” he says.

“We believe the FTA with Thailand would be a win-win for both sides as evidenced by support from German chancellor, Angela Merkel, back in July 2012.”

As for the Thailand’s political challenges following the coup, Schulze is ever the diplomat.

“Germany is always a good friend to Thailand. We’re not away when the situation is difficult as we understand that Thailand is undergoing a painful political transformation process.

“We hope Thailand will return to have a democratically-elected government soon, uphold the rule of law and protect human rights.”

Schulze feels that the sooner a general election is held the better, adding that Thai authorities should also ensure that the upcoming election is free and fair, allowing all political forces to compete in a level playing field.

Dr Bawornsak Uwanno, chairman of Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), and other CDC members were recently invited to visit Germany to observe the German political system as the CDC finalised its draft charter for a referendum.

On the Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing issue taken up by the EU, he points out that this has nothing to do with politics. “It’s all about fisheries,” he says. “In fact, there have been talks about this issue for many years.

“European consumers are sensitive and selective about where their food come from so Thailand should improve the regulatory framework.

“Shortcomings remained when the EU issued the yellow card warning in April this year so we welcome the enactment of a new fishing act, the registration of fishing vessels, the use of a vessel monitoring system and other measures.

“In my opinion, whether Thailand will get a red card (which could lead to a ban on shipments to the EU market) or not at the end of a six-month period (around September this year), is not a foregone conclusion. This is an open-ended process.”