Conversation with HE Marc Michielsen, Belgian ambassador
Located on the 16th floor of Sathorn City Tower, the Belgian Embassy with a beautiful view over Bangkok offers a great environment for a lively conversation with His Excellency Marc Michielsen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium.
The Ambassador
Mr. Michielsen has held the post of Ambassador to Thailand since August 2012 and is also accredited in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
He was born in 1959 in Mortsel, a beautiful small town in the northern part of Belgium close to Antwerp. “My deceased father was a businessman in Antwerp. My mother is alive and 89 years old. She was a painter until she got married and devoted her life to the education of her two children,” says the ambassador.
His CV shows that he can be called a very experienced diplomat. Since joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Brussels in 1989, he has fulfilled diplomatic duties in Ireland, Moscow and then as ambassador to Bulgaria, where he was also responsible for Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.
Mr. Michielsen has a PhD in political science and in that capacity he has published in scientific journals, as well as in newspapers and magazines. He is fluent in French, Dutch, German and English and later added Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
The ambassador is happily married to the French Marie Chantal Biela. She was born in Pau in southwest France, studied law and management and has worked as a lawyer in the business world for a long time. However, art fascinated her more and her sense of art has been expressed in countless paintings, graphic objects and sculptures. She has exhibited in Belgium, Ireland, Bulgaria and this spring she participated in an exhibition in Bangkok.
History of the Belgian-Thai relationship
Early after independence in 1830, Belgium had consulates in Manila and Singapore. From there, the consuls visited the Kingdom of Siam in 1835, which started the Belgian-Thai relationship.
The ambassador shows that he knows the history well, because he continues:
“The first bilateral Treaty of Friendship and Commerce was drawn up and signed in 1868. This treaty called for peace and friendship between the two countries and stipulated freedom of trade and navigation. The treaty remained in force until 1926, when it was replaced by a treaty between Siam and the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.
“In 1884 an honorary consulate was established in Bangkok and in 1888, Léon Verhaeghe de Naeyer became the first Belgian diplomat to be accredited by His Majesty the King of Siam. Diplomatic relations between our two kingdoms
really took off with the establishment of a Belgian legation in Bangkok in 1904, with Leon Dossogne serving as resident chief of the mission. This envoy has greatly contributed to the development of commercial exchanges between our two countries,” said Mr. Michielsen.
Development towards a modern embassy
“The first Belgian consulate was on Captain Bush Lane, close to the river and near where the British, French and Portuguese missions were also located. After several moves, the Belgian government decided in 1935 to buy a building on Soi Phipat, which gave the Belgian legation in Bangkok a permanent character”.
In 2012, the embassy offices moved to the Sathorn City Tower building, while the ambassador's residence remains in the original building on Soi Phipat. .
“We currently have 16 expats plus 15 locally recruited staff working at our embassy. Most of the Thai staff speak English and French, and two local staff speak Dutch. We want people who approach our embassy to be able to do so in their own language. ”
The duties of an ambassador
Mr. Michielsen explains: “As ambassador, I am the representative of His Majesty King Philippe of the Belgians in Thailand. My responsibilities and duties can be divided into three categories:
- representing my country;
- defend my country's interests;
- publicize, improve and further develop the bilateral relations between our two countries.”
“As a representative of the Belgian head of state, I try to play a role every time something important happens in the sphere of our bilateral relations, be it in the political, economic, cultural, scientific or educational field. I am also present at many official events organized by the Thai government and the Thai Royal Family.
“As for the second task, defending the interests of my country, I am talking about interests in the broadest sense. I am thinking, for example, of improving the well-being of Belgian residents and tourists and facilitating business for Belgian companies.
“The third task is to publicize, improve and further develop bilateral relations between our two countries, which I consider to be of utmost importance. From a historical perspective, I must emphasize that not every country with an embassy in Bangkok signed a treaty of friendship with this country more than 145 years ago and has maintained diplomatic relations with Thailand for 130 years.
“In addition to these important tasks, there are other important building blocks for the Thai-Belgian relationship, namely the excellent relations between our royal houses, the economic relations between our two countries, the never-ending flow of people with people-to-people contacts in the social, educational and cultural world and the presence of some emblematic figures and events that illustrate the uniqueness of our relationship. I will limit myself to two examples, Gustave Rolin Jaecquemyns and the Belgium-Thai Bridge.
Economic diplomacy
“My first task upon arrival in August 2012 was to plan and organize a trade mission chaired by HRH Prince Philippe. The mission in March 2013 represented about 100 Belgian companies and brought a total of 200 participants to Bangkok. The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders participated in the mission and signed it
with its Thai counterpart, a Belgian-Thai joint action plan to strengthen our bilateral relations and strive for a strategic partnership.
“In 2013, we reached an export value of $1,8 billion in our trade with Thailand. The export value from Thailand to Belgium was even greater. Belgium is Thailand's fifth largest European trading partner. It should be remembered that we are a country of 11 million people, so in relative terms, we are Thailand's number one European trading partner. The message I always try to convey is that Belgium has what it takes to be the central hub and number one partner for Thailand in Europe.
“Economic ties between Belgium and Thailand are thriving. In 2013 it became
Thailand ranked 43rd on the list of Belgium's most important economic partners, while Belgium was number 33 on Thailand's list.
“Exports from Belgium to Thailand increased by 2013% in 5,7. These are mainly chemical products, precious stones including diamonds, metals, machinery and equipment and plastics. Exports from Thailand to Belgium mainly consist of machinery and equipment, precious stones, metals, plastics and transport materials.
“Large Belgian companies present in Thailand are Katoen Natie, Magotteaux, Tractebel, Inve and Solvay. Most have been active here for over 20 years. Solvay recently announced it will build the largest sodium bicarbonate plant in Southeast Asia in Thailand. This investment shows that Thailand is an attractive and strategic place to invest for Belgian companies.”
“In addition to these major players, there are still many small and medium-sized “Belgian” companies present in Thailand. Last but not least, there are quite a few Thai companies that import Belgian products
Interpersonal
“In 2013, approximately 5.300 Thai citizens visited Belgium for a short visit, as a tourist, for family visits or for business purposes). Approximately 3800 Thai people live permanently in Belgium. The number of Belgian tourists who came to Thailand was 92.250 in 2013. Thailand is one of the most popular Asian holiday destinations for Belgians”. Almost 2500 Belgian citizens are currently registered at the Belgian embassy. This registration is not mandatory, so it may well be that the number of Belgians who reside here more or less permanently is a lot higher.
Personal notes
“As a diplomat, you have a unique opportunity to live in different countries and develop an in-depth knowledge of the countries and nearby regions. I use my free time to explore Thailand. Besides that, I like good food and good wines. I have a broad cultural interest, especially in music, modern dance, art and architecture. I mostly read non-fiction. When it comes to sports, jogging, swimming, tennis and golf are my favorites”
He described himself as a “big fan of Thai food” and noted that this probably has a lot to do with the fact that most Belgians know about excellent Thai cuisine thanks to the Blue Elephant restaurant. “But even if I don't enjoy the gastronomic masterpieces offered in that Thai-Belgian joint venture, I am always positively surprised by the high quality of Thai cuisine. I would like to add that good food is just as important to the Belgians as it is to the Thais. That's why I'm happy to work in Thailand. ”
NB This is an abbreviated translation of an interview in Big Chilli magazine, August 2014. A similar interview with the Dutch ambassador can be found here www.thailandblog.nl/background/conversation-joan-boer-dutch-ambassadeur/
After submitting the story to the editors, I asked some Belgians who live here in Thailand for the name of their ambassador.
Surprisingly, none of them could name it. Perhaps a hint for the Belgian Embassy to do more Public Relations for their Ambassador among their compatriots.
A nice interview, but a bit businesslike and cold. More an interview about the Belgian post than the ambassador himself. Who he is as a person remains somewhat vague.
Had to laugh at the remark about Belgians and Thais who love good food, then I always think of a cabaret artist (Theo Maassen?) who makes it clear in a less neat way that that is very cliché, there are few who like food that has been vomited rancid to hold…
In terms of PR, I think there is indeed room for improvement, do they ever have an open day or other festive public gatherings? I have also never seen interviews or conversations with other staff, if you email them with questions (in my case about clarification regarding visa-related matters), I have never had an answer to various repeated questions in 2 years. That's too bad. A little more openness in various areas would be nice, wouldn't it?
You can find everything that is organized by/via the Embassy here.
https://www.facebook.com/BelgiumInThailand?fref=ts
Regarding contacts with the embassy. Very bad experience, Only one answer. If you're not registered we can't help. Since then they can't go wrong with me.
I have not had a bad experience with the e-mail traffic with the embassy. I have always received a direct and mostly direct answer to my questions, signed by Mr. Consul. Once I had a bad experience when I requested an appointment for my girlfriend's visa application. I based this on European legislation that stipulates that you must be able to make an appointment via e-mail within the period of 14 days and that it would even be forbidden for the embassy to call on third parties to arrange the appointments. Maybe I misunderstood that European law or directive. In any case, my application was kindly but firmly declined and I was referred to VFS Global. That organization had forgotten to adjust their rates on the website, so my girlfriend had to drive 2 X 90 km to – if I remember correctly – deposit 60 Baht because otherwise it was not possible to arrange an appointment. When I informed Mr. Consul of this, I received an apology and a proposal to get an appointment soon, but this answer came in too late for our planned schedule. I did not ask for compensation 🙂 .
What I find worse is that I never managed to get an answer on the phone in Dutch. I never get any further than an English-speaking Thai employee on the other end of the line. But as Flemings we are used to this from our Embassies (about 10 years ago I had very bad experiences with the Embassy in Paris for my son-in-law's file, nothing was possible in Dutch at the time, there was not even any Dutch-skilled staff in the embassy in Paris. They did everything they could to play with my Flemish feet during a few visits and as a sponsor of the French-speaking community in Belgium I find that not only annoying but even very repulsive). The Embassy in Cairo is also far from pleasant (I also had contact with it in the context of my activities in my wife's travel agency).
Anyway, so far I can't complain about the Belgian Embassy in Bangkok. For me they have been the best, or at least the most correct, so far.
@Daniel. Then do what you normally do if you live permanently in a country. If you are deregistered in Belgium, it is still normal that you are registered at the Embassy, otherwise it means that you are here as a tourist and are registered in Belgium.
I find it a bit strange. The ambassador thinks it's important that his compatriots
are helped in their own language.31 employees, 2 of which are Dutch-speaking?
Actually, this is sad..60%of the Belgians are Dutch speakers.
They can always invite me for mussels and chips! But I don't see it happening yet.
“We currently have 16 expats plus 15 locally recruited staff working at our embassy. Most of the Thai staff speak English and French, and two local staff speak Dutch. We want people who approach our embassy to be able to do so in their own language. ”
The 16 expats are bilingual.
Of the 15 locally recruited staff, the majority speak English or French and 2 of them also speak Dutch.
18 of the 31 employees therefore speak Dutch. That's just over 60 percent.
More than enough I thought.
Correction
Was a bit too enthusiastic in the calculations and it is slightly less than 60 percent but still more than enough I thought.
.
I do not find anywhere in the interview that the 16 expats are bilingual. Wishful thinking and Di Rupo-Dutch maybe… But it must be said that the emails I received from the Consul were written in impeccable Dutch. Although the Big Chilli Magazine is an English magazine, the translation shows that this report has been translated from French.
No complaints at all about the services of the Belgian Embassy, on the contrary. Good and fast service and quick concrete answers to questions. In the past, an annual reception was organized in the residence - that was at its predecessor. And yes, I think it is normal that, if you do need services, you must be registered at the Embassy.
I think that is still the case for the 21 July. Sign up but that's in their newsletter I think
I am very satisfied with the Belgian Embassy and especially with the ambassador Mark Michielsen.
When I arrived at Bangkok airport in August this year, I had lost my international passport on the plane and only seen it at the immigration service. I was not allowed to enter Thailand and had to go back to Belgium immediately. No one wanted to help me get on the plane to look for my passport. Then I called the ambassador Mark Michielsen and wanted to help me with a provisional passport and wanted it brought by taxi to the immigration service at the airport. But the immigration detained me in their office and I had to wait and wait and they didn't help me, on the contrary they laughed at me because I lost my passport. I just asked them for the phone number of the office where I was stuck at the Thai immigration , I didn't get that , bad eh . This required Mark Michielsen to call them where they could hand over my provisional passport, as the airport has several offices. Mark had warned me that they don't like to cooperate with those Thai people from the immigration. So the ambassador did everything possible for me , but the immigration service did not and I had to go back to Belgium .
But then I got out of their office with an excuse and went to the plane where I think my passeport was. No one wanted to help me there, I got angry and the police intervened, the police did not help me either, I came even angrier, then a high-ranking police came and I told my story, he then went on the plane and had found my passeport, it was a great relief and I was very happy, that cost me 1000 baht for that policeman, but that's how thailand exists. I think this is bad that I had to get very angry before something happened.
But I just want to say that the ambassador is a very friendly and helpful man , for which I thank you .
Moderator: Thailandblog is not a pillory.
After reading this information about His Excellency Marc Michielsen, I can only express my praise.
He is certainly the calling card for Belgium in Thailand.
Keep it up.
Yours faithfully.
Cross Gino