H. E. Mr. Patrick Hemmer Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
In August last year, H.E. Mr. Patrick Hemmer, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the Kingdom of Thailand arrived in Bangkok.
Within two months, Ambassador Patrick presented his credentials to the King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua in October 2022. In addition to Thailand, he is also representing his country as Ambassador to Laos, Singapore, and Vietnam. At the beautiful residence overlooking Sathorn with panoramic views, Expat Life sat down with Ambassador Patrick to learn about his perspective on Thailand and discuss the bilateral relations between the two countries.
Ambassador Patrick shared, “I am very happy to be posted to Thailand at the time when the country opens and welcomes the outside world again. This gives a sense of new hope. Thailand is a favourite destination to many visitors from Luxembourg. On a personal level, I have visited the north and south of Thailand, both professionally and privately. The country has an ancient and deep-rooted culture – beautiful attractions with wonderful historical sites. In addition, there are superb natural sanctuaries, the mountainous Provinces of Nan and Chiang Rai and gorgeous coastlines like the Phang Nga Bay. Thai food is delicious and Bangkok – like Luxembourg has many stellar eating-places. It goes without saying that visitors are drawn to the Thai sense of hospitality and warm welcome. There are around 200 of our compatriots registered with the embassy, but we believe the actual number is much higher.”
Introducing Luxembourg, Ambassador Patrick elaborated, “Luxembourg is located in the centre of Europe, surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany. We are an open and inclusive society. With close to 700,000 inhabitants, we continue to grow and this is without counting the 200,000daily commuters from neighbouring countries. Today Luxembourg is largely a service-oriented economy with a financial centre offering a diverse range of financial services connecting investors and markets around the world. Recent years, we have focused on green and sustainability investment. Green and digital transition are the current buzzwords to guarantee Luxembourg to continue to be a dynamic economy. Luxembourg hosts one of the world’s top High performing computers; satellites services as well as the space industry are quite developed in my country.”
Ambassador Patrick studied political science and philosophy in university. “Prior to my Foreign Service career, I was a journalist for two years. As I was always fascinated with international relations, a diplomatic career was an obvious choice although I am the only diplomat in the family. My overseas postings included Poland, Russia, and represented Luxembourg at the European Union mission in Brussels and at the UN missions in New York. Prior to Thailand, I worked as a diplomatic advisor at the Office of the Prime Minister, a challenging and very rewarding job.”
On the subject of Thailand in the ASEAN context, Ambassador Patrick commented, “Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union, and we strive for regional cooperation be it economic, political or people-to-people relations. Thailand as the key foundation member of ASEAN has the similar outlook as ours in terms of working closely with its neighbours. Luxembourg also works with Thailand when it comes to official development assistance, for instance in strengthening training in the health sector in Laos.
Luxembourg investment in Thailand has included financial services, logistics, engineering, satellites and glassware. We recently received an overseas delegation in the finance industry who met up with all the key Thai financial institutions such as SET and major banks. The prospect for further collaboration is bright. ”
“The workforce of Luxembourg is highly educated, their mind set is pragmatic and innovative, and we are a multilingual society. Young children are exposed to three languages in their early years, with our local Luxembourgish, to be followed by French and German. English is taught in high school and considered as a very common business language. Solidarity is important to our government in terms of political, economic, and social stability. One good example is the well-planned transportation system within our capital city. Buses, trams and trains in the whole country are free, for both citizens and visitors. Strict carpool lanes are encouraged to manage wasteful resources.”
Aside from economic cooperation between Luxembourg and Thailand, Ambassador Patrick aims to promote cooperation in terms of innovation among academics and universities. “It is important to encourage people to exchange in dialogue. Despite its size, Luxembourg has an immensely diverse and creative culture scene. I would like to share some of it with the Thai public. Another ambition of mine is to contribute to the greening of the urban space in Bangkok.”
Quoting two examples of the past six months in Thailand since arrival, Ambassador Patrick proudly recalled, “I attended my first Muay Thai competition and felt elated that the female champion was from Luxembourg who came to Thailand a few years ago to practice this sport. On another occasion, the Embassy of Luxembourg, together with our Dutch, Belgian and UN colleagues and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration joined 250 Bangkokians among which Governor Chartchad for a bike ride with the theme “Make her City safe” to raise awareness on violence against women and girls”
Ambassador Patrick is joined here in Thailand with the young family and Madame Magdalena Hemmer. “We spent our last Christmas in Nan province. We immensely enjoyed this rural and beautiful province in northern Thailand. We look forward to having the opportunity to visit more places like Isan.”
As our interview drew to a close, Ambassador Patrick welcomed more Thai visitors to Luxembourg. “With a Schengen visa, it is very easy for Thai tourists to come to Luxembourg while in Europe. We are known as the “Green heart of Europe “where the distances are short and the impressions are great. Discover our capital city for its fortified medieval old town and its numerous top venues for arts and music lovers. Luxembourg offers a wide range of flavours in a small area, it is very safe and welcoming and visitors will not be disappointed with our culinary traditions and local wines. It is also a paradise for hiking and biking in unspoilt natural landscapes”
