German-Thai relations

German-Thai relations

Germany	Thailand

The German-Thai relations officially go to the year 1858 back when the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg , Lübeck and Bremen the first trade treaty with the Kingdom of Siam abschlossen, at that time about their representatives in Singapore , Consul Johannes Mooyer . At the same time, a German consul in Bangkok received his power of attorney from King Mongkut (Rama IV) : the German businessman Theodor Thies from Bangkok. The first ambassador of a German state, Friedrich zu Eulenburg for the Kingdom of Prussia , did not come to Bangkok until 1861 and in 1862 signed a friendship treaty with Siam. Paul Pickenpack followed in 1865 as Hanseatic consul. The Thai side could not find a suitable candidate for an ambassadorial post in Germany, so King Mongkut (Rama IV.) Asked John Bowring to serve as Siam's ambassador. The first Siamese diplomat who could be sent to Germany was Prince Prisdang Choomsai (1881). In 2008, the 150th anniversary of relations in the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce was celebrated at a large event in the presence of Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier .

Germans were active in Siam much earlier and reported on the country and its conditions. B. in the 17th century the astute Engelbert Kaempfer and Johann Jakob Merklein . And already in 1678 a certain Johann Janßen Strauss wrote about "Ayudhya" and portrayed the king as one of the richest men in the world. The young Prince Friedrich Wilhelm IV had read about Siam and jokingly called the Charlottenhof Palace , which he helped to design, "Siam".

Political Relations

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Queen Sirikit and Federal President Lübke on the occasion of the state visit to Germany in 1960

Towards the end of the 19th century, German companies exerted a great influence on the economic life of Siam and conquered important areas of the development of the country's infrastructure: construction of the telegraph network , development of the ports as well as the country's railways and railways .

The first trip of a Siamese chief took King Chulalongkorn Rama V.) to Europe and also to Germany in 1897. After the First World War , however, under King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) all German possessions were confiscated.

In February 2008 a delegation from the German Bundestag (group for friendly relations with ASEAN ) traveled to Bangkok, accompanied by Economics Minister Michael Glos and a business delegation . On June 5 and 6, 2008, Thailand's Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama was in Berlin for talks with his German counterpart . In September 2008 the President of the Senate, Prasobsuk Bundet (Prasobsook Bundech) held talks in Berlin.

From November 8th to 11th, 2008, the German-Thai Symposium was held in Bangkok, which provided an insight into German technology. German products on quality of life and Germany as a tourist location were also presented.

On May 8, 2009 the Joint Thai-German Economic Commission met in Berlin to prepare the further expansion of economic relations between the two countries.

In April 2012 the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs visited Thailand, in July Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra visited Berlin. In September 2012 the Federal Minister of Economics and Technology and in October the Federal Minister of Finance made official visits to Bangkok.

In 2012 Germany and Thailand celebrated the 150th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. This anniversary year was used to intensify the political exchange of visitors.

On April 23, 2016, the German-Thai Society organized the symposium "Thailand's Role in ASEAN" in Hamburg. Ms. Nongnuth Phetcharatana , Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand, was also present and guest speaker on the occasion .

Economic relationships

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There are more than 400 German companies operating in Thailand, including small and medium-sized companies. One is particularly active in infrastructure projects, in the chemical and automotive industries as well as in environmental technology and in the energy sector.

In the course of the global financial crisis and the increasing instability of the country, investments by German companies in Thailand declined in 2008: 50 million euros were put into 30 new investments, compared with 145 million euros for 29 projects in 2007.

In contrast, trade relations between the two countries rose to a total of 5.91 billion euros in 2008. Of this, exports to Thailand amounted to 2.52 billion euros (increase of 3.9%) and imports from Thailand to 3.39 billion (increase of 6.0%). However, towards the end of 2008, trade slackened noticeably. According to the latest information from the Federal Foreign Office, the figures for imports and exports improved in 2015. In 2015, German companies exported goods worth around 4.05 billion euros to Thailand and imported goods worth around 5.05 billion euros. The bilateral trade volume in 2015 was around 9.1 billion euros.

Germany is Thailand's most important trading partner within the EU. The bilateral trade volume in 2009 totaled 5.05 billion euros, a decrease of 14.8% compared to the same period in 2008. In the first half of 2009, German companies exported goods worth around 1 billion euros to Thailand and imported goods worth around 1 billion euros , 4 billion euros. The most important export goods are financial services, machines, automobiles and chemical products. On the German side, office goods, textiles , electrical and electronic goods, jewelry and food were particularly imported .

German companies are regularly represented at all important trade fairs in the country; This also applies to Thai companies that are particularly active in the food, medical technology, mechanical engineering , communication and information technology and tourism sectors .

The bilateral aviation agreement, which has existed since 1965, is currently being harmonized in accordance with European law. An agreement to promote and secure investment came into force in October 2004. A new regulation for the double taxation agreement between Germany and Thailand is being negotiated.

Development cooperation

The Federal Republic of Germany has been helping the state's development projects for more than 40 years with an amount totaling more than one billion euros. The most important sponsors on the German side are the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and on the Thai side the Thai International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA).

In spring 2002, the promotion of the eco-efficiency of small and medium-sized enterprises in Thailand was agreed as an important area of ​​bilateral cooperation for the next ten years. A corresponding agreement was signed on July 14, 2005. The second phase of this agreement will run from May 2008 to December 2011 and will require around 6.2 million euros.

Thailand is changing more and more from a taker to a donor role. Since 2009, plans have been made between Germany and Thailand to finance joint projects in neighboring countries such as Laos as part of a tripartite cooperation.

Cultural cooperation

The close ties in the cultural area go back to the 1984 agreement. The Goethe-Institut in Bangkok is an important institution for cultural exchange, especially for promoting the German language. Many partnerships between German and Thai universities have developed over time. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has a student advisory center in Bangkok and offers a large number of scholarships for Thai students who can take part in international programs with Bachelor's and Master's degrees.

Cooperation in Germany

Until 31 December 2014 58,827 lived according to the Federal Statistical Office Thais in Germany. In the course of time, important German-Thai associations, Thai cultural groups and magazines emerged, which have made it their task to represent Thai culture in Germany, also in cooperation with the Thai tourist office, the Thai embassy in Berlin and the consulate general in Frankfurt and promote bilateral relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Kingdom of Thailand. In 1962 the German-Thai Society (DTG) was founded in Cologne, which has also published the association magazine Thailand-Rundschau every four months since 1988 . The Siam Journal , founded by Axel Ertelt and Wilfried Stevens, was published from 1992 to 2003 . At that time, the Siam-Journal was the only recognized German-language magazine, alongside the Thailand-Rundschau, that also represented Thai culture in Germany. Other important organizations and associations that are also supported by official Thai bodies is Thailändische Kunst- und Kultur eV in Munich, which was founded in 2007. The Thailand Friends Paderborn eV association, founded in 2010, and the Network Thais Overseas eV (NTO) founded in Bielefeld in 2012 , which also published D-Magazine .

People with Thai roots in Germany

Alexander Sieghart

• Sucharit Bhakdi (* 1946), physician and microbiologist
• Martin Breunig (* 1992), basketball player
• Wanna Buakaew (born 1981), volleyball player
• Dennis Buschening (* 1991), soccer player
• Hermann Ludwig Husslein (* 1985), canoeist
• Wiradech Kothny (* 1979), fencer
• Patrick Kronenberger (* 1988), singer and composer
• Alexander Sieghart (* 1994), football player
• Amorn Surangkanjanajai (* 1953), actor (including Lindenstrasse )

People with German roots in Thailand

Jannine Weigel

• Jessica Amornkuldilok (* 1985), model
• Karl Bethge (1847–1900), railway engineer
• Manuel Bihr (* 1993), soccer player
• Karl Siegfried Döhring (1879–1941), architect and art historian
• Oskar Frankfurter (1852–1922), linguist and librarian
• Björn Lindemann (* 1984), soccer player
• Harald Link (* 1955), entrepreneur
• Mario Maurer (* 1988), actor and model
• Hans Penth (1937-2009), Thaiist
• Prayun Phamonmontri (1897–1982), politician
• Paul Pickenpack (1834–1903), merchant and consul
• Philip Roller (* 1994), football player
• Phra Chenduriyang (Peter Veit; 1883–1968), composer (including the Thai national anthem)
• Jannine Weigel (* 2000), actress and singer
• Luis Weiler (1863–1918), railway engineer

Buddhism and Religion

There are now 48 Thai Buddhist Wat temples in Germany (as of December 31, 2015):

literature

• Rudolf Baierl: "140 Years Peace: fundamental conditions for the commencement of German-Thai amity". 5th Asia Pacific Forum 2003 . As a pdf at http://public.beuth-hochschule.de/~baierl/Thai/A4Thai_Deut_Peace.pdf (last accessed on November 10, 2010).
• Manich Jumsai : History of the Thai-German relations (from the files of the Thai Embassy in Bonn and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs) . Bangkok: Chalermnite 1978.
• Catthiyakorn Sasitharamas: The German-Thai relations in the time of the Weimar Republic up to the end of the Second World War . Hamburg: Kovac 2012, ISBN 9783830063612 .
• Stefanie Rathje: Corporate culture as interculture: Development and design of intercultural corporate culture using the example of German companies in Thailand . Science and Practice, Sternenfels 2004, ISBN 978-3-89673-207-1 .
• Andreas Stoffers: In the land of the white elephant: the relations between Germany and Thailand from the beginning until 1962 . German-Thai Society, Bonn 1995, ISBN 3-923387-21-0 .
• Andreas Stoffers: Sawasdee-150 years of German-Thai friendship . Rosenheimer Verlagshaus, Rosenheim 2012, ISBN 978-3-475-54134-6 .
• Andreas Stoffers: Thailand and Germany: economy, politics, culture . Springer Gable, Wiesbaden 2014, ISBN 978-3-642-54984-7 .
• Volker Grabowsky (Ed.): Thailand and Germany. 150 years of diplomacy and friendship between peoples. Zenos Verlag, Segnitz 2014, ISBN 9783931018405 .
• Pornsarn Watanangura: Literature and Language: Studies on German-Thai cultural contact . Aragon Verlag, Moers 2015, ISBN 9783895355189 .

Web links

Commons : German-Thai Relations  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Relations with Germany

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manich Jumsai (1978), p. 1
2. ↑ Baierl (2003), p. (4)
3. ↑ GIZ (German International Cooperation) ( Memento of the original from 10 December 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (last accessed on October 30, 2012) 
4. ↑ Strengthening the competitiveness and eco-efficiency of SMEs  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (last accessed on October 30, 2012)