Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand

As a Student

Mr. Kasit Piromya is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. Born in Thonburi, Bangkok on 15 December 1944, Mr. Kasit graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Affairs from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington D.C. in 1968. After that, Mr. Kasit furthered his studies in the Institute of Social Studies, the Hague in Netherlands and graduated with a Master of Social Science in 1971.

Career

Mr. Kasit joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand after he graduated from Georgetown University in 1968 and began his career as Third Secretary in the Department of International Organizations.

Source: The Nation

His career path in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs saw him as a leader, with responsibilities such as theDirector of the Policy and Planning Division, Deputy Director- General of Economic affairs Department , Ambassador (responsible for European Affairs) and Director- General of the International Organization Department.

His overseas postings included the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels and the Thai Mission to theEuropean Community [European Union] between 1975 to 1979.

Prior to his retirement from the diplomatic career, he was Ambassador to Moscow (in 1991); Jakarta; Bonn/Berlin; Tokyo and Washington D.C. respectively. After retiring from the diplomatic force, he entered into politics and was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand on 19 December 2008.

Source: www.daylife.com

On Thailand’s Diplomatic Strategy

On 16 September 2009, during the 144th Jiji Top Seminar hosted by Jiji Press, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya gave a luncheon talk on the topic “Thailand’s diplomatic strategy towards Japan and East Asia”, at the Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok.

During the talk, the Foreign Minister touched on Thailand’s political development, its foreign policy and bilateral relations between Thailand and Japan. He pointed out that Thailand’s popular democratization has been developed for the past 15 years during which Thai people have increased their roles in the national affair administration. He also stressed that the current government has a strong intention to run the country with accountability, transparency and in accordance with the rule of law.

source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Kingdom of Thailand

Regarding Thailand’s foreign policy, the Foreign Minister emphasized that Thailand will carry out all of its international commitments. In addition, Thailand stands ready to support trade liberalization and to cooperate with international community to resolve global issues such as climate change, food and energy security, cross-border crime, humanitarian issue and disaster management, as well as to create a knowledge-based society.

Examples of His Recent Visits to Singapore

Mr. Kasit visited Singapore on the 15th of August 2009 for a 2 days meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, Mr. George Yeo.

source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Kingdom of Thailand

During Mr. Kasit’s visit, Minister George Yeo expressed Singapore's support for Mr Kasit's proposal for a joint appeal letter from ASEAN foreign ministers to the Myanmar government, asking them to grant Ms Suu Kyi amnesty for the remainder of her sentence and to allow her to decide for herself whether to participate in the General Elections scheduled for 2010.

The ministers touched on bilateral relations as well and reaffirmed the excellent cooperation between the two countries.

Then, on 13 - 14 October 2009, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Mrs. Jintana Piromya, visited Singapore as Guests of the Singapore Government for the 9th Coordinating Meeting of the Thailand-Singapore Civil Service Exchange Programme (CSEP). Upon arrival, the Thai Foreign Minister had a working dinner with Ambassador Nopadol and Mrs. Anchulee Gunavibool, officials of the Royal Thai Embassy and the Thai delegates attending 9th CSEP.

On 14 Oct 09, the Thai Foreign Minister called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Foreign Minister George Yeo. They discussed, among others, regional situation, particularly the ongoing economic downturn, the role of Thailand, as the ASEANChair, and the role of Singapore, as the APECChair.

source: Channel News Asia

The two Foreign Ministers also presided over the opening of 9th CSEPCoordination Meeting at Shangri-la Hotel. In his opening speech, Minister Yeo noted that since its inception in 1997, CSEP has helped to foster strong relations between the civil services of Thailand and Singapore. Minister Yeo also noted that the theme of this year's CSEP - "Thailand and Singapore: Enhancing Civil Service Coordination for Effective Responses to Complex Regional Challenges" - was timely. Foreign Minister Kasit, on his part, praised the way Singapore organizes and manages the city state and urged the Thai delegates to learn from and exchange experience with their Singaporean counterparts on how to serve the public more effectively and efficiently.

Foreign Minister Yeo also hosted welcome lunch in honour of the Thai Foreign Minister and all the delegates attending the meeting. (Example of news coverage on the 9th CSEP Coordination Meeting)

To read more about Mr. Kasit Piromya, you may visit http://www.mfa.go.th

Examples of Minister Kasit Piromya’s press interviews and news coverage:

• With Madame Secretary of State of the US Hillary Clinton
• Minister Kasit’s latest visit to Singapore