LDD: Before Paris, you were the Foreign Ministry spokesperson during the border crisis with Cambodia in 2025, at a time when much of the conflict was also fought on social media, with misinformation spreading faster than official statements. In that situation, what did that experience teach you about the place of communication in modern diplomacy and digitally evolving nations?
H.E. Mr. Nikorndej Balankura: It is a very good question. It taught me, and it gave me, a very important policy change during my time as spokesperson.
During that time there was a lot of misinformation and disinformation. Some of it was out of good intention, and some of it was intentionally meant to misinform people. So the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand became aware that, first, the speed of communication is one of the most important things. However, we cannot catch up with social media, because we have to be accurate, right? To be 100% accurate before you issue anything, you have to check, double check and triple check. So it was almost impossible to issue anything faster. My interviews had to be checked and double checked again, because they became the national position.
So what we developed at the time, and I think it is a very important thing, is strategic communication. Strategic communication is to have a narrative of what we believe in, from front to end. That gives you the tools to deal with misinformation and disinformation: you can counter it. We will not correct misinformation or disinformation that has no source, for example, or that does not come from an office, that does not have any official line in it. So that narrows it down.
But to have a strategic communication team, first, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot work alone. We have to work with the military and defence, we have to work with the communication ministry, we have to work with the Prime Minister’s Office and the foreign minister. That has helped us with speed and accuracy, because instead of me waiting for everyone to check their script before I say anything, we have a committee, which we call the committee on strategic communication. I will give them less than an hour to check and counter-check before I respond. So that is what we do.
France has said it fully supports Thailand’s bid to join the OECD, and Thailand could become one of the first Southeast Asian countries in an organisation long seen as a club of rich Western economies. Is this mainly about reforms to escape the middle-income trap, or also a statement about where Thailand wants to stand in the world, alongside its ties with China and the United States?
First, the middle-income trap: yes, it is. It will certainly help us, but that is not our main goal. And for the second part of the question, do we want to stand in the world alongside them? No, we don’t.
What we want, the main aim of the OECD, and what we have always told France (France has supported us very greatly in this endeavour), is to use the OECD to improve our standards. That is very important: writing new laws, adopting new environmental standards, a new government procurement system, labour law, to name but a few. These will make Thailand, first, more competitive in a world where competition is so fierce, more visible, and more attractive for foreign direct investment. And that will answer the middle-income trap.
Also, what we want from the OECD is a place to stand: the visibility of Thailand for the Western hemisphere, in terms of how our standards and our economy are ripe to partner with Western countries. I have to admit that when Western countries want to partner with, or invest in, a country, the first thing they look at is human rights standards. Thailand does not have that issue, but we have environmental standards issues, and we have labour law issues. If these are taken care of with the help of the OECD, France and many other OECD members like Japan or Korea, then Thailand would be on that level playing field with everyone else.
You are also Thailand’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Heritage can connect countries, but in Southeast Asia it has also been a source of tension, as the Preah Vihear temple listing showed in 2008. Can UNESCO help countries in the region share their heritage rather than compete over it, and what would you like Thailand to bring to the organisation during your time here?
I am a true believer that UNESCO, with the spirit of UNESCO, to promote education, science and culture, can bring countries closer together, and has brought countries closer together.
On the Preah Vihear temple, it was not a conflict about the temple at all. It was a border misunderstanding, a border conflict, but the temple was brought into the conflict. And actually UNESCO has helped solve that, because Preah Vihear has now been listed as World Heritage by Cambodia, and Thailand has been on the committee that helps the restoration of Preah Vihear. UNESCO is also on that committee. So I think it is a very beneficial platform for countries to list archaeological or historical monuments. My answer to you is that UNESCO has brought, and is successful in bringing, countries closer together.
What can I, or Thailand, bring to the organisation? Right now, we think we are a bridge builder. We are the vice-chairman of the Asia-Pacific group in UNESCO, 44 countries. Next year we will be president of the Asia-Pacific group. We intend to bridge, you know, 44 countries; it is a very big group, the largest group. We have to find a common position for the Asia-Pacific group, and we will bring that to UNESCO: a common ground for the Asia-Pacific. That is what we can contribute to UNESCO.
Thailand and France have a long shared history, going back to the Siamese embassy of Kosa Pan to the court of Louis XIV in 1686, and this year marks 170 years of diplomatic relations. Beyond official visits and agreements, where do you still see traces of Thailand in everyday life in France, and of France in Thailand, whether in food, language, architecture or the way international politics is conducted?
Well, you know, Thailand and France go back a very long way. The trace of Thailand in France is very easy to see. You can go to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs today and you will see an exhibition where we showcase the dresses, the Thai textiles, made by French haute couturiers like Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain. And they are still being worn today, you know. Those are the dresses of the kings and queens of Thailand. We believe in the craftsmanship. We have the textiles, we have the raw materials, but we don’t have the skills, the craft of the French designers. That is just an example.
But the trace I see, and this goes beyond both Thailand in France and France in Thailand, is the art de vivre. We are both very similar in that sense. You have the best gastronomy in the world. We have a very strong food industry; you know Thai food very well. And we like to enjoy that, you know, the love of living. I think, as Thai ambassador, I see very similar things between us in this art de vivre.
Your Excellency, you have been in France for about six months now, which is quite long enough to start picking up some local habits. Which French habit have you already adopted without realising it, and which one do you think you will never adopt, however long you stay?
Firstly, coffee. I drink much more coffee. I loved coffee before I arrived in France, but I have adopted this French culture. I think I drink about seven espressos a day, which is not too much for French people. I enjoy coffee and I like to go to cafés, and I think I have absorbed that. And I take more time for lunch. When I was in Thailand, sometimes I had 15 minutes for lunch, during my time as spokesperson. Now you cannot rush me. I want to take my time: my lunch break is my lunch break. And I think that’s very French.
And what I will never adopt is, unfortunately, I don’t drink alcohol, so I will not ever be able to enjoy French wine. I’m allergic. So that’s one unfortunate thing, because I see people, you know, commenting on such great wine.
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