Expat Life French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou

[snoop1130]

 

Expat Life were honoured to have the opportunity to interview the French Ambassador to Thailand H.E. Mr. Thierry Mathou please find following his thoughts.

 

Thierry, if I may call you that, may I start with asking how long have you been the Ambassador to Thailand?

It is nearly a year now – time goes so fast. I arrived at the end of November 2020. 

 

May I ask did you arrive to Thailand direct from France, and or where were you posted before?

I was previously DG for Asia and the Pacific at the French Ministry of Foreign affairs in Paris. In this capacity I outlined the blueprint of the French Indo-Pacific strategy which was formally presented in 2018. This strategy aims to maintain an open and inclusive space, free from all forms of coercion and based on the promotion of multilateralism and the respect of international law. I also initiated France’s candidacy to the development partnership with the ASEAN, which is an important component of our Indo-Pacific strategy. I have always been convinced of the importance for France to have a comprehensive and active diplomacy in Asia where I spent most of my career. 

 

I started my career in Washington (1989-1993), before being appointed to Beijing twice (in 1993-1996 and 1999-2004). I held several positions in Paris at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, in particular within the Directorate of European Cooperation (1996-1999) where I was responsible for monitoring trade policy and relations between European Union with Asia and Oceania. I was then appointed Deputy Director of International Economic and Financial Affairs (2004-2006), before returning to Asia, as Consul General in Shanghai (2006-2010), a period during which I organised the French participation to the 2010 World Expo. Then I was appointed Ambassador, first to Myanmar (2011-2015), then to the Philippines (2015-2017), where I was also non-resident Ambassador to the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau (in residence in Manila). In 2017 I took the head of the General Directorate of Asia and Oceania (2017-2020) within the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, before coming to Bangkok. 

 

Alongside my diplomatic career, I am also a scholar of Himalayan Studies associated with the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris. Bhutan is my main academic focus.

 

That is a pretty impressive background Sir. May I ask which city were you born and brought up in?

I was born in Rodez a small historical city in the South of France located in a rural area about 150km Northeast of Toulouse. Today Rodez is mainly known for its museum dedicated to its most famous citizen, Pierre Soulages, an internationally celebrated contemporary painter, who was born there in 1919. I spent my childhood and my teens in Rodez province known as Aveyron, a region famous for having some of the most beautiful villages in France, but also for the spectacular Millau viaduct – the highest road bridge in the world – and for Roquefort, which the French consider as “the king of cheeses”. Then I moved to Toulouse the centre of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus and the SPOT satellite system, and to Paris where I studied political sciences, international relations and Asian languages.

 

At which age did you decide you wanted to become a diplomat? 

I always knew my career would lead me to Asia. At some point I hesitated between becoming a diplomat and a full time academic. I chose diplomacy because I wanted to serve my country and to have a positive and active contribution to crisis solving. Yet I also became a non-professional academic because I think it is essential to keep an acute cross-cultural understanding and awareness of what is happening beyond borders.

 

Do you have any other diplomats in your family?

No. Most of my family members including my parents are teachers. My wife had a career as a banker and an international financial consultant before she decided to reorient her career to teaching, then to supporting our three children.

 

How do you see Thailand today, in ASEAN, and in a wider context?

Thailand must now take up the challenge of ending Covid-19 and its consequences, particularly the socio-economic ones and the grim impact that it has had on the Thai tourism industry. We wish to continue to work closely with Thailand to help revive the economy, tourism, academic and scientific exchanges.

 

Within ASEAN, to which it has contributed so much, Thailand is a key player. The country is facing the challenge of the situation of the Burmese neighbour.

 

Thailand is a partner for the promotion of multilateralism and the defence of global issues. Bangkok is an important pole of the United Nations, very active, thanks to the action of ESCAP and all the United Nations agencies which are represented and work very actively in the Thai capital. We identify many issues on which Thailand is an essential partner to lead other countries, such as the climate, the defence of biodiversity, the fight against emerging diseases and the “One Health” approach, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

 

Thailand will play an important regional role in Asia-Pacific in 2022 as it hosts the APEC summit. This is an event that France, which is present in the Pacific where it has territories, nationals, economic and strategic interests, and responsibilities in terms of global issues, will closely observe. In general, we see Thailand as a key partner, alongside its ASEAN partners, to build the inclusive approach advocated by France with its EU partners in the Indo-Pacific. France is about to sign a comprehensive roadmap with Thailand to upgrade our relation to the level of a strategic partnership.

 

Do you see similarities between your country and Thailand and if so what are they?

The size of our homelands and the size of the French and Thai population is roughly the same. Our common history goes back a long way: Thailand is the Asian country with which France has the oldest diplomatic relations. Our two nations have a lot in common: interest in gastronomy, and more generally the art of living. But both France and Thailand are far more than world acclaimed touristic destinations. They are also countries where technology and innovation development are important.

 

The role and presence of the sea is also essential for both our countries. The importance of maritime issues in the Indian and Pacific Oceans: Thailand, through its central geography in South-east Asia, is open to these two horizons; France is for its part, present in these two oceans, through its overseas territories (Réunion in the Indian Ocean; New Caledonia, and French Polynesia in particular, in the Pacific. A total of 2 million French people live in the Indo-Pacific region). It is not very well known, but 60% of the Exclusive Economic Zone of France is located in this zone (France has the second largest EEZ in the world). France, which adopted an Indo-Pacific strategy in 2018, supplemented at European level by that adopted this autumn by the EU, is a natural partner for Thailand, because the interests and challenges of our two countries are closely convergent;

 

The upcoming calendar will be an opportunity to strengthen the similarities between our two countries, which will be invested in 2022, with coordination responsibilities: Thailand with the chairmanship of APEC; France with the Presidency of the European Union.

 

Do you have children, if so at what age and where do they go to school, university or are they already working?

I have one daughter (29) and two boys (26 and 23). My daughter Alexandra graduated from the Institute of Political Science in Paris and Fudan University in Shanghai. After starting her career in Shanghai and Hong Kong, she is now working as a development manager in a global software company in Paris. Being perfectly fluent in Chinese she will probably return to Asia for her career. My eldest son François graduated from the French Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris and from Cambridge University. He is an historian who got the academic rank of “agrégé” a French University title who entitles him to be appointment to the highest teaching posts. For the time being he is completing a PhD in History. He plans to be a university teacher and a researcher. Charles, my youngest son is an airspace engineer who graduated from ISAE-SUPAERO Aerospace Engineering Institute in Toulouse and from Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. He just started a PhD in Information and Communication Science and Technology (ICST) with ONERA the French Defence, Aeronautics and Space Research Agency. He is planning to join the European Space Agency (ESA).

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/interview/french-ambassador-to-thailand-h-e-mr-thierry-mathou/

 

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

 

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[Boomer6969]

He is truly brilliant, and he came up with Covid vaccines at a time when the Thais  were doing their best to keep me at the bottom of their priorities.

 

But, to be fair, I have to add that in all my years as an expat the French foreign service never let me down.

 

Australian F.A aren't bad either but for a hefty fee..

[mvdf]

Truly impressive accomplishments, evidenced by a successful career as a diplomat and statesman, unparalleled eloquence and a family with extraordinary credentials.  

[chilly07]

Explains why French Expats are so well served. In comparison UK Expats suffer a one dimensional Ambassador with little experience of Expat life and anything else. In fairness the UK Ambassador represents a hollow self interested Government that suffers from lack of moral fibre wrecked the EU and has been playing catch up to the French in ASEAN.