With his tanned skin and dark hair, Vice Chancellor Philipp Roesler
looks more Asian than a typical Anglo-Saxon, yet he insists he is a true-blue
German.
"Yes, I was born in Vietnam
but I was adopted from a Catholic orphanage nine months after my birth. So I
feel very much like a German and speak only German.
"I have no special emotions
toward the country of my birth," he said at a recent interview.
The 39-year-old economy and
technology minister was visiting Thailand and Vietnam earlier this week to
promote German business activities in the region.
This may have been a homecoming
of sorts, because though he may not consider Vietnam home, Roesler did spend
his first nine months at an orphanage in Khanh Hung before being adopted by his
German parents. Now, he is Germany's first Asian-born minister and leads the
Free Democratic Party.
But this
surgeon-turned-politician does not wish to dwell on his past.
Leading a group of German
government officials and businessmen, Roesler met Prime Minister Yingluck
Shinawatra, her deputy Commerce Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong, Foreign Minister
Surapong Towichukchaikul and Transport Minister Charupong Ruangsuwan to discuss
future opportunities.
"We are celebrating 150
years of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Germany, so it is a very good
time to come here with a big business delegation," he said at a reception
in the German Ambassador's residence in Bangkok.
The German minister attached
special significance to the planned free-trade talks between the European Union
and Thailand, adding that his country was in full support.
Thailand's House of
Representatives recently approved the scope of the planned Thai-EU FTA talks,
though negotiations have not officially started yet.
Roesler said that in his meetings
with Yingluck and other ministers he had realised that: "Yes, they know
this is very good not only for the European economy but for the Thai economy as
well … I want to make sure we continue to support the EU-Thailand negotiations."
Once the EU-Thailand FTA goes
through, the European Union hopes to create a free-trade agreement with Asean
after the Asean Economic Community is implemented in 2015, he added.
He explained that Thailand was a
very attractive investment destination because it was stable in terms of
government, food and food security as well as disaster management.
"We have excellent
companies, good products and services. And we want to match those things
between Thailand and Germany," he said.
In 2011, the bilateral trade
volume was worth 7.2 billion euro (Bt287.7 billion), 10 per cent more in
comparison to the previous year, according to a statement issued by the German
Embassy.
Roesler said the 15 small and
medium-sized technology firms that accompanied him in this trip were interested
in areas such as sustainable water management and flood prevention.
He also visited Siemens
maintenance facilities for Bangkok's subway system.
When asked about the euro zone
debt crisis, he said: "I am convinced that we are on the right path. We
need monetary stability, fiscal discipline and structural reform to improve our
competitiveness. The euro can become the most stable currency in the
world."
Roesler cited Portugal as an
example, saying it had succeeded in fiscal discipline and structural reform.
"It underlines that we are on the right path."
Asked if he sees himself in the
post of German chancellor, he said: "I am the chairman of a small party in
Germany and history shows that we have never had any chancellor [from a small
party]."
Jeerawat Na Thalang
Business & Investment Opportunities
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