In February 2021, H.E. Mr. Jaroslav Auxt, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the Kingdom of Thailand arrived in Bangkok. Ambassador Auxt presented his letters of credentials to H.M. the King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua in November. In addition to Thailand, he is also Ambassador to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. At the spacious embassy office on Sathorn, Expat Life sat down with Ambassador Jaroslav to learn about his perspective on Thailand and discuss the bilateral relations between Slovakia and Thailand.
Established for only a short span of 30 years, Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the southwest, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. The capital city is Bratislava. In April 2020, Expat Life covered a travel article on the city, which is often referred to as the Beauty on the Danube.
Career diplomat
Ambassador Jaroslav is a veteran diplomat since joining the Slovak Foreign Service 30 years ago. Born in a small village in Central Slovakia, he graduated as an engineer from Technical University Kosice in 1985. As his growing up years, Slovakia was formerly part of Czechoslovakia, it was known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic from 1969 until 1990. In 1993, the Slovak Republic became an independent sovereign state. Ambassador Auxt recalled, “I grew up during the socialist era. Majority of my foreign service years are European based, on EU policies and multilateral cooperation with EU countries. I am very excited to my current posting to Thailand, as Asia is a new experience to me.” Prior to moving here, Ambassador Auxt was Head of the EU Policies Department from 2017, and Ambassador in Sweden from 2013 to 2017. Previous overseas postings include Belgium, Germany and the UK.
Views on similarities between Slovakia and Thailand
Expat Life asked Ambassador Auxt on his views of Thailand, “Thailand is a very important country in the region and in the context of ASEAN. In terms of trade between our two countries, the turnover is more in favour of Thailand. The trade mainly focuses on industrial, machinery, chemical products on both sides. Slovakia imports also some agricultural products. The Slovak economy is driven by the automotive industry. We have factories from the world’s top car brands such as Peugeot Citroen, Volkswagen, Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo and Kia. Covid-19 which has disrupted supply chains and the ongoing push to electric vehicles, poses significant challenges to our industries. To increase our mutual trade, it is important to orient ourselves on production with higher added value.”
On similarities between Slovakia and Thailand, Ambassador Auxt candidly shared, “I believe that Thais and Slovaks like everyone around the world, we all try to manage our daily lives as hard working people with personal integrity. In Slovakia, education is viewed as a gateway to prosperity. There are 23 universities in our country.”
On his goals during the term in Thailand, “I hope to intensify our trade and investment between our two countries. To promote Slovak investment in Thailand. As for Thai investment in Slovakia, I can quote a good example with Delta Electronics.”
“As this year marks the 30 years anniversary of the establishment of the Slovak Republic, I would like to organise more cultural events to promote Slovakia. Last September, we organised a successful musical performance of Slovak musicians and we hope to repeat a similar event later this year.”
Ambassador Jaroslav is not accompanied by his spouse and children in Thailand. “My wife is a teacher and currently based in Slovakia, taking care of our children. My daughter is 18 and about to join the university and my younger son is 12. Since Thailand opened up last year, I have been busily occupied with meeting our EU colleagues and representatives from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government officials. There are around 1,600 Slovaks registered in Thailand. When there is some free time on weekends, I may take a jog in the park but mostly I prefer swimming.
On his travel within Thailand, “I have not had the opportunities to visit many places here yet, apart from the popular destinations like Hua Hin, Krabi and Phuket. Koh Samet is my favourite though.”
There is no official student exchange programme between Slovakia and Thailand. Ambassador Auxt highlighted, “There is an ad hoc programme. To be knowledge, Thai medical students practice in universities and hospitals in Slovakia. We can say that there exists a sort of mutually beneficial cooperation in the medical field.”
As our interview drew to a close, Ambassador Auxt shared with our readers, “Slovakia is part of Schengen system, so I would like to encourage Thai visitors to consider coming to our country as part of their European exploration.”
After visiting Bratislava before, I totally agree with Ambassador Auxt, especially with the old town of the capital for its spectacular historical buildings, narrow corridors, clock towers and cobblestone streets.
