Thailand-Norway ties still flourishing after 117 years
The friendship between Thailand and Norway began 117 years ago when King Rama V visited Oslo in 1907 as part of his European tour.
The king had travelled around the world, especially in Europe, to promote Thailand as a developing, independent nation. This was after the Kingdom lost a lot of territory, including Laos, in the 1893 Franco-Siamese War, or the Incident of RS 112.
King Rama V visited Norway two years after the Nordic nation became independent from Sweden on October 26, 1905.
Thailand’s Ambassador to Norway Vimolbajra Ruksakiati said that now there are some 30,000 Thais, mostly women, living in the Nordic nation. Most of them live in Svalbard, followed by Oslo and Trondheim.
“Even though the distance between Thailand and Norway is huge, Thais were the first foreigners to visit the area,” she said.
Vimolbajra, who began her mission in Norway in December 2019, said the two countries have been cooperating on various aspects, such as telecommunications, digital farming and clean energy.
She also believes that the two countries can work together to create sustainable clean energy.
"Thailand and Norway have the same targets in tackling environmental issues and pollution," she said, adding that advanced technology is necessary to make the cooperation successful.
The envoy added that Thailand’s Commerce Ministry was currently negotiating a free trade deal with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which is comprised of Norway, Iceland Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
“This will benefit both Thailand and EFTA members as it will be Thailand’s first FTA in Europe,” she added.
Meanwhile, Thailand’s soft power – its cuisine – has been making a mark in Norway for a few years now.
Penpaka (last name withheld), the owner of the restaurant “Benja Siam Syd" in Trondheim, said Norwegians had developed a taste for Thai cuisine.
She said she opened this second branch about a year ago after running her first restaurant, “Benja Siam Midtbyen”, successfully for 10 years. Penpaka moved to Norway with her Norwegian husband 22 years ago.
She said the most popular dishes in her restaurants are “phad Himmaphan” (stir-fried vegetables with roast duck and cashew nuts), “phad Thai” (stir-fried rice noodles) and “phad priew wan” (sweet and sour pork).
Renu (last name withheld), who owns “Thai Restaurant by Renu” in Kristiansund city, also said her food had received a good response from locals.
She has been living in Norway for 28 years and opened the restaurant with her husband some five years ago.
