The Royal Thai Embassy in Nairobi has expressed its commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Kenya.
According to the Charge d’Affaires Torsak Janpian, the Thai Embassy is keen on doing this by increasing collaboration between the two countries.
He said this will be done through trade and investment, political and cultural exchanges and tourism, among other existing avenues.
"There is room to further strengthen this friendship and hence the Royal Thai Embassy is committed to increasing collaboration between the two countries through political exchange, trade and investment and cultural exchange, medical tourism, scholarship opportunities and development projects among others."
"Distance between us is no longer a problem as we have several airlines connecting the two countries especially now that there is a direct flight from Nairobi to Bangkok. The route started on November 22, 2023,” Janpian said.
He spoke in Nairobi, during the marking of The National Day of The Kingdom of Thailand.
The days remember the Birth Anniversary of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadei the Great and Thailand’s Father’s Day. The National Day of Thailand is marked on December 5.
The Charge d’Affaires noted that despite the Thailand government being affected financially by COVID-19, it has continued to execute earlier approved projects.
"The Embassy had initiated, with the approval from the Thai government and the Thailand International Corporation Agency, projects and a series of government activities to assist Kenya in Agriculture, Aquaculture, Public Health and Universal Health Coverage, not to mention the Friends from Thailand Volunteer Program at the Kenya School of Agriculture in Nyeri and Masters program scholarships provided by the Thailand International Corporation Agency to Kenyan government employees for about 10 years all of which have been focused on capacity building."
He insisted that most of the projects are focused on capacity building because they strongly believe in exchanging knowledge.
Janpian said the biggest lesson Thailand has learnt from the times it used to receive aid from other developed countries is the transfer of knowledge because projects come and go but knowledge remains forever.
"As an upper middle income country, Thailand has gradually been shifting from being a recipient to an emerging donor. The country used to receive aid from donors of development projects and technical assistance."
"We have realised that what Thailand has gained the most was the knowledge transfer through capacity building that is the reason why when it is our turn to assist others, the Thailand International Corporation Agency emphasizes on capacity building activities,” the Charge d’Affaires added.
Kenya’s Foreign Affairs director general for bilateral affairs Moi Lemoshira, who was the chief guest at the event appreciated Thailand for being an important source of investment, technology transfer and a market for Kenyan products.
“Thailand is also an important destination for Kenyan university students and other human development training and we appreciate the support from the Royal Kingdom of Thailand,” he added.
The DG called on more Thai investors to consider Kenya and take advantage of the growing market within East Africa, COMESA and the emerging Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
Lemoshira said Kenya and Thailand have more room to increase trade between the two countries, and that Kenya looks forward to holding further discussions with Thailand to negotiate better trade terms between both countries.
"Kenya reaffirms commitment to future cooperation and looks forward to the signing of the proposed bilateral framework on security cooperation. This will enhance joint capacities in addressing cybercrime, money laundering, drug trafficking, illegal wildlife trade and intelligence sharing among others.”
The Thailand-Kenya relationship started 56 years ago and up to now, both countries value each other and have extended bilateral and multilateral support to one another.