H.E. Mr. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand

[snoop1130]

 

Expat Life had the pleasure of sitting down with H.E. Mark Gooding the British Ambassador to Thailand and discuss his life, his first impressions of Thailand after six months of office, and his mission for the future.

 

He came to Thailand in early July 2021 so has had a difficult first six months coping with Covid, as everyone else in the world has. But for a diplomat whose role is to represent his country overseas and to speak for his nation to our hosts it has not been easy.

 

He is an accomplished linguist studying French and German at Oxford University, some Spanish and having served in China for some years, Mandarin and now of course, Thai. I was pleased to hear that he expects to be in Thailand for at least 4/5 years which certainly makes more sense than limiting his posting to the normal 3 years. He said that the Foreign Office makes the investment of giving you language training and so they encourage you to stay for a while.

 

I wanted to know more about the man and his origins so I started the conversation off with Where are you from in the UK, which city, where were you bought up and where did you study?
I was born and bought up in Guildford in Surrey and studied at Oxford and for all of my adult life, apart from when I have been posted overseas, I have been living in London which I now consider my home in the UK. I have just been back in the UK for a couple of weeks which I always enjoy.

 

May I ask you what your parents professions were?
My father was an RAF officer and my mother was a secretary. He has no other diplomats in his family.

 

What made you pursue a life in diplomacy?
As a teenager and in university I was very interested in politics, foreign affairs and languages which I studied in university so I was very keen to live and work overseas and be involved in international relations. The Foreign Office was a pretty obvious career choice and I count myself lucky that I got in and have been doing it now for 22 years.

 

Having studied languages at university I had a natural interest in foreign affairs and my first job was as a teacher in Sri Lanka. I then worked for a pharmaceutical company for about a year, then saw an application to join the Foreign Office and have been with them since. He is now 46 years old.

 

He has had two postings in China, one in Shanghai and another in Beijing. He was then appointed Deputy High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, a country dear to his heart because of his teaching experience there. He was Ambassador to Cambodia so he is well qualified and seems to have been destined for Thailand with its leading role in ASEAN.

 

Forgetting Covid what is your biggest challenge in Thailand so far?
It’s an interesting question as Covid has had such a dramatic effect on all our lives. I started the role at the beginning of July with restrictions in place, on meetings and travel, as well as the direct challenge of vaccinating the population. The challenge now is prioritisation. There are huge opportunities for the UK and Thailand both on the trade and economic side but also on the political and security side. As well of course as our services for British nationals and the huge demands on the embassy team so we need to try to manage those demands in the most sensible and effective way. But it is a very positive challenge and I am enjoying it and it is evident that that are many opportunities ahead.

 

Liz Truss’s recent visit illustrated the importance of maintaining and opening trade relations in SE Asia – how did it go?
It was excellent, obviously she is a fairly new Foreign Secretary, so for her to come to the Far East so early in her tenure shows the level of importance that she and the government attach to the region.

 

I was very happy that she came to Thailand in early November just after they had eased many of the travel restrictions so it really felt to me that we are back in business. We can start doing business again, seeking new opportunities in the future! She had a varied programme meeting the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and others. She attended various other events as well as the official opening of the new British Embassy. For me it was a really important moment for us to be more ambitious, more visible and really strengthen our ties with Thailand.

 

It is a difficult country to do business here isn’t it?
In terms of trade and business there are challenges but there are huge opportunities here. It is the second biggest economy in ASEAN so one of my priorities in the next few months will be to work with the British business community and the Thai government to identify what the barriers are to trade, where there are regulations or market access barriers and resolve those to make trade easier and therefore increase trade and commerce between our two countries.

 

Luckily you have a good Chairman at the BCCT in Chris Cracknell.

Yes we have, the British Chamber has been very helpful and I have a close relationship with the board. They have also been very helpful in the vaccination programme. I have met the board and will be attending their events in the future.

 

We agreed earlier this year to set up a new UK/Thailand Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) at Ministerial level. This will be the forum for us to discuss how we can take the trading relationship forward. So for me working with BCCT to agree what the priorities are for British business and to make that forum a success is absolutely key.

 

Just how good is your Thai?
I was very lucky to be sent on a one year course, which was interrupted by Covid, which focussed on the job-related language, specifically detail on the political situation, economics and social issues. I am still having weekly lessons so I am still trying hard to master the language.

 

This is my fifth overseas posting for the Foreign Office he said.

 

I have also done various roles for the government in London. Most recently I was the EU Director working on Brexit and 14 years ago I was Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary. Quite diverse, but mostly I have focussed on policy in Asia but also in Europe.

 

Education has become one of the UK’s biggest, and certainly the most successful exports to Thailand?
He acknowledged that fact and he said he has spoken to a number of the British school head teachers online as we have been locked down for most of the time but now restrictions are easing he hopes to visit and meet them all in person. With my past as a former teacher I am very keen at promoting education. It is very important to me and as a former student of languages I understand how important it is to teach English language learning.

 

How can we influence more Thais to speak English?
We discussed the role that the British Council had in assisting the Ministry of Education in Thailand in training their English language teachers under Dr. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin. The British Council also offer direct English language tuition quite extensively in Thailand but they also have various teacher training courses and online learning material for English language teachers as well as extensive free online resources for English learners of all ages which I support.

 

What I see here is a lot of enthusiasm, particularly from young people, for study opportunities overseas and in terms of English language overseas destinations the UK is the most popular, we have about 7,000 Thai students going to study at British universities every year. To enter a British university you have to have a sufficient level of English to study in the UK. But the Thai youth also have access to English language media, TV, films, arts and culture as well as the travel opportunities. Obviously English is widely spoken across the world so if you are going to do business it is normally the international language spoken between business people. The English language is really useful and young people usually understand that but learning any language is good for the brain as it is an excellent academic discipline.

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/interview/h-e-mr-mark-gooding-the-british-ambassador-to-thailand/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2022-01-12

 

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[brommers]

Just a load of hot air from an organisation that does well nigh nothing for British overseas, and indeed regards any Brit living outside the UK as a near traitor. And he represents a PM who is an utter disgrace and should be removed immediately.

[DefaultName]

Well, he's learned the language and talks to us (and presumably Thai's) in plain words.

 

We've had worse.

[IamNoone88]

"....so one of my priorities in the next few months will be to work with the British business community and the Thai government to identify what the barriers are to trade, where there are regulations or market access barriers and resolve those to make trade easier and therefore increase trade and commerce between our two countries."

 

Pretty much sums it after a long and colourful presence in Thailand (since 1855 actually) ....... and they still have no idea.

[Almer]

3 hours ago, brommers said:

Just a load of hot air from an organisation that does well nigh nothing for British overseas, and indeed regards any Brit living outside the UK as a near traitor. And he represents a PM who is an utter disgrace and should be removed immediately.

Agreed

[PETERTHEEATER]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

.......his first impressions of Thailand after six months of office

Six months to get a first impression?