By Nopporn Wong-Anan
When Mark Gooding arrived in Thailand in 2020, the country was locked down by COVID-19. Tourist arrivals had collapsed, diplomatic exchanges had slowed to a trickle, and much of his first year was spent studying Thai instead of attending official functions.
Six years later, as the British ambassador prepares to leave Bangkok at the end of July, the relationship between the United Kingdom and Thailand is arguably stronger than at any point during his tenure.
Trade has surged by around 60 percent to £8 billion, Britain and Thailand have upgraded ties to a Strategic Partnership, British tourist arrivals have reached record levels, and the Embassy in Bangkok now runs the UK’s largest consular operation anywhere in the world.
In an hour-long interview before taking up his next post as Director for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Gooding reflected on geopolitics, Brexit, trade, cannabis smuggling, and why Thailand remains one of Britain’s closest partners in Asia.
A More Dangerous World
Looking back, Gooding said the biggest change during his six years in Thailand was not confined to Thailand itself but to the international environment.
“The world is more fragmented than at any point in my lifetime,” he said, pointing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, growing geopolitical competition, and increasing pressure on the rules-based international order.
Those developments, he argued, make cooperation between countries like Britain and Thailand more important than ever.
“We have shared interests in international law, multilateral institutions and free trade. These are all under pressure, so it’s important that countries like ours work together.”
Gooding also noted that both countries have experienced significant political turnover during his posting, with several prime ministers and governments taking office in both Bangkok and London.
Strategic Partnership: More Than Symbolism
One of the biggest diplomatic achievements during Gooding’s tenure was elevating UK-Thailand relations to a Strategic Partnership, making Britain Thailand’s first such partner in Europe.
While the term may sound like diplomatic jargon, Gooding insisted it has practical significance.
“It’s symbolic, because it reflects the importance of the relationship. But much more importantly, it’s about what sits underneath it.”
That includes closer cooperation on security, cyber issues, science, technology, education, climate change and trade.
Rather than representing the culmination of bilateral relations, he described the agreement as “the beginning” of a framework designed to deepen cooperation for years to come.
Brexit Didn’t Change the Relationship
Asked whether Brexit fundamentally altered Britain’s relationship with Thailand, Gooding said the answer was no.
The UK’s friendship with Thailand stretches back 170 years diplomatically and more than four centuries between the two royal families.
“Fundamentally, the relationship remains one of partnership and ambition,” he said.
Where Brexit has made a difference is trade policy.
Outside the European Union, Britain can negotiate its own commercial arrangements. That enabled London and Bangkok to establish an Enhanced Trade Partnership, which Gooding described as a possible stepping stone toward a future free trade agreement, although no timetable has been agreed.
Trade between the two countries has already grown from around £5 billion to £8 billion in goods and services over the past five years, despite the absence of an FTA.
Britain’s Largest Consular Team
Perhaps surprisingly, Britain’s busiest overseas operation in Thailand is not political or commercial — it is consular.
The Embassy’s consular section is the largest of any British embassy worldwide.
Last year alone, staff handled more than 2,000 consular cases, equivalent to around seven new cases every day.
The workload included more than 700 deaths of British nationals in Thailand, over 300 hospitalisations, road accidents, vulnerable travellers, crime victims and Britons imprisoned in the country.
Gooding stressed that most deaths involved elderly residents or visitors who died from natural causes rather than suspicious circumstances.
He also praised Thai authorities for their cooperation.
“It’s a partnership that really works,” he said.
Record Tourist Numbers
British arrivals exceeded 1.2 million last year, making the UK one of Thailand’s largest long-haul tourism markets.
Gooding joked that the weather probably deserves some of the credit.
More seriously, he said Thailand enjoys an excellent reputation among British travellers because of its hospitality, food, cultural attractions and well-developed tourism infrastructure.
He does not expect Thailand’s decision to reduce visa-free stays from 60 days to 30 days to have much impact, since most British tourists stay only two or three weeks anyway.
Cannabis Emerges as a New Security Challenge
The issue that has most dramatically altered the Embassy’s workload, however, is cannabis.
Since Thailand decriminalised cannabis, British authorities have witnessed an explosion in attempts to smuggle the drug into the UK.
According to Gooding, British airports arrested nearly 1,000 people attempting to smuggle cannabis in 2025, while the amount seized increased more than thirty-fold.
More than 80 percent of all cannabis seizures in the UK now originate from Thailand, compared with almost none just three or four years ago.
Although cannabis has been decriminalised in Thailand for regulated domestic use, Gooding stressed that exporting it without a licence remains illegal.
The Embassy has worked closely with Thai Customs and other agencies to raise public awareness and strengthen enforcement, including a newly introduced fine of 30,000 baht per kilogram for illegal exports.
Diversity Reflects Britain, Not Thailand
Gooding, the second openly LGBTQ+ British ambassador to Thailand in the past decade, will be succeeded by Britain’s first woman ambassador to Bangkok.
Asked whether this reflects Britain’s engagement with Thailand, Gooding rejected that interpretation.
“It’s not really about Thailand specifically,” he said.
“The UK diplomatic service seeks to represent the society the UK is, in all its diversity.”
He noted that Britain’s diplomatic service includes large numbers of female ambassadors, LGBTQ+ ambassadors and ambassadors from ethnic minority backgrounds around the world.
Looking Ahead
Gooding leaves Bangkok after helping oversee one of the busiest periods in modern UK-Thailand relations, culminating in celebrations marking the 170th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
His next role — as Director General for Asia at the Foreign Office — will keep him closely engaged with Thailand while overseeing British relations across more than 40 countries in Asia.
If there was one message he wanted to leave behind, it was that despite growing geopolitical uncertainty, Britain’s commitment to Thailand has not diminished.
“The relationship remains one of partnership and ambition,” he said.
Nopporn Wong-Anan is a former editor of BBC News Thai and deputy editor of the Bangkok Post.