2023 was the year when Vietnam and Thailand celebrated the 10th anniversary of the establishment of their strategic partnership. Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh talked with VietNamNet about the bilateral relationship and new goals in the two countries’ cooperation.

Vietnam Town was inaugurated in November 2023 on the occasion of the Vietnamese National Assembly chair Vuong Dinh Hue. Please tell us about the significance of the event?

This is the pride of Vietnamese people in Thailand, and the Vietnamese Embassy and Ambassador. As the ambassador who participates in the entire process of developing the Vietnam town, from the very beginning to the day of ribbon cutting for the opening, I feel very proud. It was an exciting and emotional journey.

I have to remind you that there are many streets bearing Vietnamese names in the world, but Vietnam Town in Thailand is the first and only Vietnam Town in the world.

This is a friendship work between the two countries. Without the Vietnam-Thailand friendship, there would be no Vietnam Town.

The Vietnam-Thailand relationship has developed at a very high level. The two countries established a strategic relationship in 2013 and I hope it will be upgraded to the highest level at suitable moments.

There are many Vietnamese people in Udon Thani, about 50,000-60,000. Vietnam Town is both a culinary and a cultural street, where Vietnamese in Thailand can meet and exchange information. It is also a new tourist destination in the locality.

The establishment of Vietnam Town is supported by Thai Royalty. It also receives support from the Thai Royal Government and the Udon Thani provincial authorities. 

This is a rendezvous for Vietnamese, where they can speak Vietnamese, eat Vietnamese dishes, and discuss matters of Vietnamese concern. The landscape and architecture style are similar to Vietnam’s.

This is a culinary street with many Vietnamese traditional dishes, attracting customers from Thailand, Vietnam and other countries.

I have good news. After the inauguration of Vietnam Town, I went to Nakhon Pathom in mid-December to attend the groundbreaking ceremony to build the second Vietnam Town there, named Vietnam Town Nakho Pathom. There will also be a center for Vietnamese studies under Rajabhat Udon Thani University.

How was economic diplomacy implemented in Thailand last year? Could you please tell us about the most outstanding events?

After the Covid-19 pandemic was contained, Vietnam reopened its economy in March 2022. In July 2022, Vietnamese Ambassador led a group of 40 Thai businesses, including ones owned by Vietnamese Thai businessmen, to six cities/provinces in Vietnam (Da Nang, Quang Nam, Kien Giang, HCM City, Bac Giang and Hanoi) to seek trade and tourism opportunities.

The event was followed by a forum connecting Vietnamese owned businesses in Laos and Thailand held by overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Thailand.

In November 2023, a forum of overseas Vietnamese in five countries (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar) was organized.

Two years ago, Vietnam’s Embassy in Thailand and Vietnamese businesspeople investing in Thailand decided to set up a chamber of commerce in Thailand, named VietCham Thailand.

VietnamCham Thailand gathers businesses in Vietnam which do business and make investment in Thailand, and is an economic diplomacy model. Also, we successfully deployed other traditional economic diplomacy types, such as vaccine diplomacy and energy diplomacy.

In November 2022, the two countries issued a Joint Statement mentioning a very important cooperation program, the "Three Connections" Strategy. Could you please tell us how this cooperation is going?

The ‘three connections’ include the connection of supply chains in supporting industries; connections in the grassroots economy, especially small and medium enterprises with localities; and strategic connections for sustainable development between Thailand’s bioeconomy, circular economy and green economy and Vietnam’s green development strategy. This is creative cooperation which suits current trends in the world.

Do you have any initiatives or proposals for the comprehensive diplomacy policy?

Vietnam’s investment in Thailand remains modest and we hope that Vietcham Thailand will call for more investment. 

Following the great achievements in the last 10 years of the Vietnam-Thailand strategic relationship, the two countries are now thinking of upgrading the relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Tran Thuong