Today, Ukraine celebrates the 33rd Anniversary of Independence -- a fight for which is still ongoing, as the people of Ukraine are determined to win this battle. Despite being dragged into an unprovoked and brutal war by Russia, the Ukrainian people believe in a bright future for our country, which shares commitments to the values of democracy, freedom and justice. Ukraine is confident in reaching peace and ousting the aggressor from its sovereign territory.
Despite the ongoing aggression, Ukraine looks forward to continuing the strengthened cooperation with all peaceful countries in the world, including the Kingdom of Thailand.
Remarkably, the Kingdom of Thailand was the first country in the region of Southeast Asia to recognise Ukraine as an independent state in December 1991. Thereafter, a number of political contacts between Ukraine and Thailand at various levels have taken place. Many Thai high-level officials, including members of the parliament, visited Kyiv and held talks with their Ukrainian counterparts.
A number of meetings at the level of the foreign ministers of our countries were organised -- with the latest one held in November 2022 in Phnom Penh.
The mechanism of political consultations between the foreign ministries has provided both sides excellent opportunities to discuss a broad spectrum of bilateral issues and set out the priority steps aiming at giving new powerful impetus to their development. A third round of political consultations was successfully held in February 2022. Ukraine praises Thailand's decision to elevate the level of the political consultations to vice ministers and looks forward to holding their fourth round this year.
With the formation of the Friendship Group with Ukraine in the National Assembly of the Kingdom of Thailand in February 2022, cooperation between Thai parliamentarians and their Ukrainian counterparts has intensified.
Ukraine appreciates Thailand's support for the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion, in particular by voting in favour of relevant UN General Assembly resolutions.
The First Global Peace Summit, which took place in June 2024 in Switzerland, sent a clear signal to Russia that the world does not support its war of aggression. Thailand's participation in the Summit has become a valued contribution to establishing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. Ukraine also appreciates Thailand's participation during 2023–2024 in national security advisers' meetings on the implementation of the Peace Formula.
Ukraine is grateful for the humanitarian assistance provided in 2022–2024 by the Royal Thai Government to the Ukrainian people during the time of war, amounting to 10 million Thai baht.
Ukraine considers Thailand as one of its major trade and economic partners in Southeast Asia. Ukraine strongly believes that our countries have real potential to restore and exceed the previous trade volumes, as well as to foster mutually beneficial economic cooperation in such areas amid the post-war restoration process of Ukraine and the rebuilding of its economy. We look forward to convening the inaugural meeting of the Joint Trade Commission, which will help to prioritise areas of mutually beneficial cooperation in terms of trade and investment.
Ukraine and Thailand possess significant potential in promoting bilateral science and technological cooperation. A positive example of such collaboration was the launch into orbit of the first Thai satellite, THEOS, in 2008, which was performed by the Ukrainian launch vehicle Dnipro. In October 2023, a second Thai satellite, THEOS-2, was successfully launched by the VEGA space rocket, one of the stages of which was designed and manufactured by Ukrainian companies. In November 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding between the State Space Agency of Ukraine and GISTDA of Thailand was signed, and in 2024, the parties started practical collaboration in areas of mutual interest.
In recent years, the Ukrainian side has organised various cultural events to provide opportunities for Thai people to acquaint themselves with the customs and traditions of our country. As part of implementing the initiative of the First Lady of Ukraine, in May 2022, a Ukrainian audio guide was launched in the iconic Museum Siam in Bangkok. During 2023–2024, Ukraine was represented at the International Bangkok Book Fairs, and participated in various film festivals held in Thailand, with the most recent screening of the Oscar-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol at the European Film Festival in May 2024.
Ukraine is aiming at deepening practical interaction with Asean, which is becoming an increasingly important player in the world. In particular, we are interested in obtaining the status of Sectoral Dialogue Partner and look forward to further strengthening the mutually beneficial relations between Ukraine and Asean, as well as with its member states, in particular the Kingdom of Thailand.
After the war, Ukraine is ready to re-establish closer people-to-people contacts, facilitate the Thai people to discover Ukraine and have Ukrainian people come to enjoy beautiful Thailand. Thailand's decision in July 2024 to increase visa-free entry for Ukrainian citizens to up to 60 days is aimed at reaching this goal.
And today, celebrating the Independence Day of Ukraine, we look forward to the continued strengthening of the cooperation with the Kingdom of Thailand for the peace and prosperity of our friendly nations.
Pavlo Orel is Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Ukraine for the Kingdom of Thailand.