#028/08 April 28, 2008

Remarks by US Ambassador Eric G. John
Reception for 175th Anniversary of U.S.-Thai Friendship
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ministry Banquet Room - 1st floor
Monday, April 28, 2008
7:15 pm.
(As Prepared for Delivery)

Mr. Prime Minister,

Foreign Minister Noppadon,

Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Chris Padilla,

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen: 

We’re here tonight to celebrate 175 years of an enduring friendship.  I’ve lived in Thailand long enough now to understand and respect the important role that fortune tellers play in Thai society.  Americans also take an interest in predicting the future.  With that in mind, instead of talking about the last 175 years I’d like to gaze forward a hundred and seventy-five years to the year 2183, when we celebrate 350 years of U.S.-Thai friendship.

Who knows what amazing advancements will have taken place by the 22nd Century?  Maybe we’ll all be driving hover cars or, better yet, teleporting to work and beating the traffic altogether.  Will we be working on computers at our desk, or sending e-mail by simply thinking about someone?  I don’t know; just as our predecessors who signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1833 could not have imagined the moon landing or iPods. 

But I can be certain of a few things.  The Thai and American people will continue to believe in the ideals of democracy and these ideals will continue to spread throughout the world, liberating the oppressed and lifting up the down trodden.  We will no longer refer to countries as “democratic countries” or “non-democratic” simply because we will all be democratic.  This global democracy will bring a peace and stability never before seen in history. 

The success of globalization will have reduced poverty and boosted the lives of the billions who will populate the world of the future.  As the peoples of the world enjoy the security that democracy brings, so too will they find economic security.  In this advanced global economy the barriers to the free flow of trade, people and ideas will have been abolished.  Hunger will be something children study about in history class.  Unemployment will be a myth, a legend.

Diseases that afflict us today will be long gone by the time we flip our calendars to 2183.  Thanks to the close cooperation between Thai and American researchers, diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS will be long gone.  Some of that work is being done today by American and Thai doctors working side by side.  There’s a good chance we won’t have to wait another century for these diseases to be eradicated.

COBRA GOLD 2183 will see record number of participants engaged in military enhanced humanitarian relief efforts.  Today, Cobra Gold is one of the largest multi-lateral military exercises in Asia and has already enjoyed a quarter century of success.  The Cobra Gold exercises of the future will continue to strengthen our security and prepare our military forces to respond instantly to natural disasters like they did with the tsunami disaster of 2004.  Even in 2183, when terrorists and petty dictators have been swept aside into the dustbin of history, there will still be a need for uniformed services.

And when they’re not studying on some far off planet, Americans in the thousands will come to Thailand to study in the Kingdom, just as thousands of young Thais will continue to study in the United States.  With all the advances tomorrow will bring, people will need even more the touch of the past and the wisdom of the ancients.  Thai history and culture has much to teach the people of the world:  respect for one’s elders, appreciation of nature and love of good food.  A future without a sense of sanuk would be cold and sterile.  And who wants that?

And lastly I can be certain that the friendship and partnership between the United States and Thailand will continue to grow.  Thailand will remain the cornerstone of Southeast Asia and a dynamic center point for economic growth.  Our two nations have mutually prospered by our alliance and we will continue to do so for the next 175 years. 

With the level of progress we’re experiencing in the field of medicine, I expect that many of us will still be around in the year 2183.  I plan to be.  So if I’m wrong about any of this, just give me a call.  Or beam your thoughts to me.  Whichever is cheaper in 2183.

(Toast)
Let us raise our glasses and look to the future:  to the next 175 years!

Thank you.