Remarks by
H.E. Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs
of the Kingdom of Thailand
at the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Pacific Weeks Berlin 2013
Weltsaal, Federal Foreign Office, Berlin, 5 June 2013

Your Excellency Dr. Guido Westerwelle,
Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany,
Your Excellency Mr. Klaus Wowereit,
Governing Mayor of the City State of Berlin,
Your Excellency Mr. Jejomar Binay,
Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to be here in Berlin today for the Opening Ceremony of the Asia Pacific Weeks, 2013. First of all, I would like to express my thanks to the organizers of this event for inviting me to speak, and also to the Federal Foreign Office and the German people for the warm welcome extended to me and my delegation.

The theme for this year’s Asia Pacific Weeks, which is  “Smart Cities”, is indeed a pertinent and brilliant choice.

Today, cities need to be smarter to respond to rapid socio-economic changes. Berlin is one of the best examples of this. Just over two decades ago, it was two separate cities with two different ideologies. And the area around Potsdamer Platz, where I was last night, was still a no man’s land.

Berlin today, however, is a unified city with one Governing Mayor. Potsdamer Platz is now a vibrant quarter that attracts millions of tourists each year. In fact, I can feel the refreshing change from when I was here in Berlin last year with my Prime Minister.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Change is not only evident here. Change is also happening thousands of kilometers away. Parts of my region are going through rapid industrialization and enormous economic growth. These phenomena have, in turn, drawn millions of people into the cities.

Within the next 20 years, more than half of the people in the Asia-Pacific region will be living in cities. That will be nearly a quarter of the world’s population.

The rapid growth of Asian cities offers a vast range of opportunities. Urbanisation concentrates the workforce, market and development of infrastructure into small areas. It provides favourable conditions for efficient administration, businesses and investment.

Rapid urbanization, nonetheless, also poses two main challenges.

Firstly, how to respond to the increasing growth of cities and improve the quality of life of its residents. Here we are talking about issues such as hardware infrastructure in improving intra-city mobility, reducing the risk of natural disasters and ensuring sufficient energy supply.

Secondly, how to better manage and develop investments in people, resources, commodities, knowledge and information within cities and between urban centers. Here we are talking about software issues such as people participation, social inclusiveness, enhancing education, innovation and creativity, enhancing communication technology and connectivity between urban areas.     

The bottom-line is that we need smart societies to build smart, safe, and sustainable cities.

My government is focused on addressing these two challenges in cities and urban centers in Thailand. We are investing in human resources capacity building by enhancing access to education and opportunities for innovation. We have set a target of increasing the use of alternative energy sources. Additionally, 49 billion Euros will be invested in hardware infrastructure such as high speed rail and road networks, deep sea ports and mass transit lines over the next 7 years.

We are aware that we cannot do this on our own. We are working with our neighbours to create regional economic corridors, so that our cities will not only be national business hubs, but also gateways to this dynamic region. We have also been and will be working with partners, like Germany, to ensure that all the infrastructure required to address urban challenges are equipped with cutting-edge, state-of-the-art and, most importantly, green technology.

Furthermore, we are also a key driving force of regional integration in our region. With the emergence of the ASEAN Community by the end of 2015 and the promising dynamics of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Asia-Pacific region will soon become a community of closely connected cities. Together with roughly half of the world’s production force and market, the centre of the world’s growth and prosperity will shift east towards Asia and the Pacific.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are all aware that Europe is currently going through a difficult challenge. I am confident that Europe will emerge out of this crisis successfully, but during these hard times, I would like to invite you to look east and share in our growth and prosperity, just as we shared in yours in the past.
 

In closing, I would like to commend the City of Berlin and other supporters for organizing this event. I wish you all every success in the weeks to come.

Thank you very much.