The video conference on the proposed collaborative program of high-speed railway between Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) and Khon Kaen University (KKU) of Thailand was held on May 25, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Beijing Time (BJT). Mr. Liao Junyun, Consul-General of the People’s Republic of China in Khon Kaen, Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D., President of Khon Kaen University, and Prof. Yao Faming, Vice President of Southwest Jiaotong University spoke at the conference.

Mr. Liao Junyun pointed out that the China-Thailand high-speed railway, a key cooperative construction project under “the Belt and Road Initiative”, is a fast land route of paramount importance connecting peninsula countries in Indochina, especially Thailand and China. The collaboration in the High-Speed Railway Programme between KKU and SWJTU meets the common requirements of regional development in the new era.

In his speech at the conference, Assoc. Prof. Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, M.D. indicated that the Thai government has always attached importance to the collaboration with the Chinese government in the field of high-speed railway. Khon Kaen sits right at a strategic point on the China-Thailand high-speed railway. The teachers and students of KKU are eager to acquire new knowledge and technologies and to tap their creativity during the process of in-depth cooperation between the two universities, thus contributing to the regional development of Thailand.

An introduction to the University and its international exchanges was given by Vice President Yao Faming. He stressed that the Bangkok-Nong Khai high-speed railway project creates a good opportunity for the two universities. If the collaboration works well, SWJTU will make full use of its prestigious resources in disciplines, talents and platforms to cultivate high-quality local talents for the construction, operation and management of the high-speed railway and facilitate the economic and social development of Thailand.

Following the above speeches, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Rachapon Santiwarakorn, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at KKU briefed on the Faculty and explained to the participants the “Tentative Proposal for the Collaborative Programme of High-Speed Railway”. Directors of Academic Affairs Office, General Office of Tianyou Railway Institute and the Office of International Cooperation and Exchanges (the School of International Education) of SWJTU discussed the details of collaboration. Xin Ling, Director of General Office of Tianyou Railway Institute of SWJTU, introduced SWJTU international training programs in recent years and a series of textbooks in English for rail transit programmes compiled by this university.

Mr. Zhang Zhiwen, Commercial Consul of the People’s Republic of China in Khon Kaen, and Assoc. Prof. Nawarat Wara-Aswapati Charoen, Ph.D., Vice President for International Affairs attended the conference.

Khon Kaen University, founded in 1964 near Khon Kaen, is one of the top research universities in Thailand. In 2010, the university was rated as one of the nine national research universities in Thailand. SWJTU liaised with KKU at the beginning of January this year under the assistance of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Khon Kaen and has since maintained regular communication via email despite of disruptions and inconveniences brought about by the Covid-19 Pandemic.