Thai students enjoy quality education in Jordan — ambassador

AMMAN — Jordan is increasingly becoming a new destination for Thai tourists with a rapidly growing number of Thai students choosing the Kingdom as their destination for Islamic studies and learning Arabic, according to Thai Ambassador in Amman Pornpong Kanittanon.

Before 2011, there were only some 50 Thai students majoring in Arabic and Sharia studies, but the number has grown to 700 at present and is growing further annually, the ambassador said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times on the occasion of the national day, celebrated by the embassy on December 5.

“The number of Thai students coming to Jordan rose following the development in regional countries and is increasing every year…This is also due to the high quality of education in the country,” the ambassador said, adding that Jordan and Thailand established their diplomatic ties in 1966.

“I meet with Thai students every month and they are very happy here and the Islamic teaching they receive is moderate and this is something to be commended,” he added.

Jordan is famous for a number of tourist attractions and is increasingly becoming new destination for Thai tourists, the diplomat said, noting that the number of Thai tourists visiting Jordan amounted to less than 6,000 people annually a few years ago.

Currently the number is 6,000 per year and is increasing by 10-15 per cent, he said.

“We have direct flights but more promotion is needed to attract tourists to the Kingdom,” he added

According to the ambassador, a total of 15,000 Jordanians visit Thailand ever year.

Stressing that ties between the two countries are “solid and historic”, he called for the opening of a Jordanian embassy in Bangkok, which he said will greatly help boost ties at all levels.

“Although we are far as we are located in the Far East while Jordan is in the Middle East, we do have close ties and we are seeking closer cooperation. The opening of the embassy will help boost relations in all areas including tourism, trade, among other fields,” he said.

Annual trade exchange between Jordan and Thailand is around $200 million a year, of which $180 million are Thai exports to Jordan.

“With more promotions and trade missions, the imbalance can be addressed,” he added.

On cooperation in the field of rainmaking, the ambassador said experiments are being conducted in Jordan with the help of Thai experts, noting that teams are collecting data and Thai experts will be in Jordan to help with analysing the data.

“This is an ongoing process and it will take time before we see any results,” he stressed.

He added that Thailand was interested in increasing cooperation in the area of security and anti-terrorism.

“Jordan is a key player in these issues and we are looking forward to an increased cooperation in this regard,” he concluded.