The Italian National Day this year has a special meaning because it falls on the 140°
Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of
Thailand and Italy.
The relationship between our two countries achieved its first important results at the
beginning of the 20th century when King Chulalongkorn invited many Italian artists,
- engineers, architects, painters, sculptors - to come and work in Bangkok. For most
of them, Thailand became their second motherland. They rewarded the generosity of
the Thai people, leaving as an heritage to the future generations splendid building,
palaces and works of art, masterpieces which admirably blend Italian artistic skills
and Thai cultural traditions. They contributed to the fulfillment of the vision of a wise
King who was seeking for His country a modernization consistent with the
preservation of the independence and the traditional Thai values.
During the following years many more Italians came and expanded our bilateral
relations to other sectors. Today Italy is, among the European and western countries,
a major partner of Thailand, our trade exceeds 3 bn US dollars and investments are
growing. In general the bilateral relations reflect the outstanding economic and social
progress achieved by both our countries, their complementarities and there is no
doubt that they are bound to grow more in the coming years.
While looking at the future of our partnership, it is always useful however to remind
our origins and in this context I want to pay tribute to all those who, from the past
until our days, have dedicated their best energies to bring our bilateral relations to the
present levels.
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To celebrate the 140° Anniversary of diplomatic relations and building on the
successful experience realized in the past years, the Italian Embassy and the Italian
Trade Commission, in cooperation with many Thai and Italian partners, will promote
in June an Italian Festival, consisting in various events representing different aspects
of the Italian way of life, music, art, movies, food, design and so on. I hope you will
join in many events and I hope you will bring your friends.
The Italian Festival enjoyed last year a very warm reception by the Thai public and
mass media. We hope to receive a similar, if not better, response this year. For this,
we count on your support.