Islamabad (TDI): Aspiring young diplomats of the seventh International Young Diplomats School (IYDS) were delighted to step into the Embassy of Thailand in Pakistan.
Their questions and curiosity were well taken by the ambassador of Thailand to Pakistan – Rongvudhi Virabutr – who lives by a strong belief in public outreach and diplomacy.
The participants were also entertained with a detailed tour of the embassy and its various sections; most interesting of which was the kitchen garden where Thai ingredients are grown, to be used in every day meals.
The ambassador’s interactive talk with the cohort also touched on Thai cuisine as one of the ways Pakistani and Thai people interact. He informed the participants of a recent program where a young Thai chef was invited to Pakistan for the sole purpose of utilizing Pakistani ingredients and making Thai foods.
Young people from Pakistan were invited and involved in this initiative to spotlight the commonalities and to build genuine connection.
The session at the Thai embassy started with some very heart-touching videos. IYDS participants were transported to an earlier time as black and white visuals of some of the earliest Pakistan and Thailand’s interaction floated across the screen.
To mention a few, the video documented a stamp when the King and Queen of Thailand visited Pakistan, a photograph when PIA’s inaugural flight reached Thailand, when Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn visited Taxila museum, and when she was gifted a traditional Pakistani goat.
The video also displayed a visual from November 2013, when then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, visited Thailand, and a stamp of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Another video highlighted the activities of the Thai mission in Pakistan over the past year, including a Thai movie night, a water festival, the aforementioned culinary art program, and a pilot initiative in Haripur based and derived from the Thai philosophy of sufficiency economy.
In his very engaging conversation, ambassador Virabutr prompted the participants into thinking what diplomacy is, and later on what solutions they can think of to deal with Pakistan’s enormous waste and plastic waste problem.
“I spent over 30 years in foreign service,” he said while sharing his view that a diplomat should have a certain character; which means they must think analytically, be compassionate, be able to listen and connect, and should have sympathy.
“Diplomacy is not just confined to signing agreements,” the ambassador remarked as he elaborated on the centrality of negotiation in bringing projects and collaboration to life.
The participants of the school shared they were deeply touched by the generosity of the Thai ambassador, and came back with a wholesome sense of what public diplomacy and outreach should look like.
The visit was part of the seventh edition of the IYDS, which is a flagship initiative of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies (IPDS).
IPDS typically organizes the Young Diplomats School once a year as a unique platform to engage with diplomatic missions, learn about global opportunities, and strengthen people-to-people ties. With each year, this initiative is gaining popularity among students and emerging leaders, all over Pakistan.
Established in December 2008, The Diplomatic Insight is Pakistan’s premier diplomacy and foreign affairs magazine, available in both digital and print formats.
