On 5th December, the Ambassador of Thailand held a reception to celebrate the 87th Birthday Anniversary of His Majesty the King of Thailand and the National Day of Thailand at the Royal Thai Embassy in Wellington.
His Excellency Mr Noppadon Theppitak spoke of the impressive length of reign by the King of Thailand. The 69th year of His reign is the longest reigning monarch in the world today and in Thai history.
Despite the political turmoil in recent times, the Ambassador emphasised the commitment of the Thai government’s determination on reform and its work on achieving a stable, sustainable and functional democracy.
The Ambassador spoke of how the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plays a strategic role to connect and improve the economic competitiveness of the region. More specifically, Thailand is focusing on its transportation infrastructure to connect between Thailand and its neighbouring countries. The Ambassador also touched on ASEAN’s role in negotiation of free trade agreements and partnership programmes.
On New Zealand-Thai relations, the Ambassador praised New Zealand’s “world class education system”, in particular, the fields of science, innovations and technology. The Thai embassy has been actively promoting cultural exchange and understanding using “Beauty Diplomacy” where the Embassy sponsored 25 finalists of the 2014 Miss Universe New Zealand pageant to visit Thailand as “Kiwi Good-will Ambassadors”.
Thailand welcomes the launch of New Zealand Inc. ASEAN Strategy’ and looks forward to marking the 40th Anniversary of New Zealand’s valuable partnership with ASEAN in 2015.
