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AUSTRALIA THAILAND - SHARING STRONG LINKS
(Canberra, January 2008) Australia has strong ties with Thailand - from links to the Thai Royal Family and the times when His Majesty King Bhumibol Aduljadej visited Australia in 1962 and the Thai Crown Prince, His Royal Highness Maha Vajiralongkorn, studied at secondary school and military college in Australia, subsequently completing training with the Australian Army’s Special Air Service Regiment in Perth.
Today, strong bilateral relations are still reflected in ever-increasing people-to people links. Australia continues to be a leading destination for Thai students and Thailand attracts large numbers of Australians for tourism and business.
Both countries share areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, education, security, migration and tourism. Formal diplomatic relations were established between Australia and Thailand in 1952 and other links include mutual membership of bodies such as APEC, the ASEAN PMC, the EAS and the Cairns Group.
Strong links also continue through the bilateral Free Trade Agreement of 2005 which has boosted two-way trade and investment, improved business mobility, and promoted cooperation in a range of areas, including customs procedures, government procurement, competition policy and intellectual property protection.
A joint agreement work and holiday visas allows people of both countries to undertake 12-month working holidays in the other country. Personal travel between both countries for 2006-07 was $94 million.
On the people to people front, many active social groups were established in cities and towns throughout Australia. In the Australian capital, the Australia Thailand Association of Canberra was formed in 1974 in response to calls from Australian military personnel who had served with SEATO and returned to Canberra wanting to keep alive their links with Thailand.
President of the Association in Canberra, Mr John Milne, said that at that time there were no Thai restaurants in Canberra and an association function was a welcome opportunity for members to provide delicious Thai food for the occasion.
“Nowadays there are about 25 Thai restaurants in the ACT and surrounding districts” Mr Milne said.
The Association conducts social functions and cultural events and often the celebrations feature Thai dancing and also performances by Aboriginal didgeridoo players and sacred Aboriginal tribal songmen. The group has about 250 members, with the Thai Ambassador, H.E. Mr Bandhit Sotipalalit, being the honoured Association patron.
Mr Milne said that the original objective of the Association was to foster social and cultural relations between Australians and Thais. A year's activities often includes the Autumn, Midwinter and Loy Krathong dinners at a Thai restaurant , informal social occasions with eats and drinks, lakeside family picnics in the warmer months, a visit to the Thai temple, as well as sporting events. Members are also encouraged to attend the annual Thailand Update political conference organised by the Thai Studies Centre at the Australia National University in Canberra.
The group also joins many other Australians at the Royal Thai Embassy in Canberra to mark the King's birthday each December, and also the Embassy's annual Food & Cultural Festival.
The Association also organises tours to Thailand, visits to the Thai cultural collection at the Australian National Library, Thai film shows at Parliament House and briefings at the University’s Thai Studies Centre. Children's Thai Culture Art Competition including Thai dancing also help promote strong relations between Australia and Thailand.