Thai Embassy in Turkish capital celebrates National Day

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - Thailand's Embassy in the Turkish capital celebrated National Day on Thursday, along with the birthday of the country’s late king and the nation’s Father's Day.

"The 5th of December is one of the most important days for the Thais as we celebrate three occasions, the birthday anniversary of his majesty the late king Bhumibol Adulyadej, the National Day of Thailand and Thailand's Father's Day," Thailand's Ambassador Apirat Sugondhabhirom said during a speech.

"The friendship between Thailand and Türkiye has grown from strength to strength over the years. We have expanded the scope of collaboration into new emerging areas such as electric vehicles, clean energy and technology, innovation as well as the defense industry," he added.

Turkish Industry and Technology Minister, Mustafa Varank said Türkiye and Thailand supported each other on every occasion and trade reached $1.6 billion last year.

"The relationship with Thailand has been developing on the basis of mutual benefit in every field. Next year, we will celebrate the 56th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. These are tough times for all of us. Crisis, wars, pandemics and so on these days the importance of bilateral cooperation means more than anything," he said.

"We will hold Türkiye and Thailand joint economic commission meeting next month in Ankara. I am going to chair the meeting with the Thai minister of foreign affairs. We think that we can develop cooperation in the fields of innovation, science, technology, health and tourism in line with our green action plan and Thailand's biocircular green economy development program," Varank added.

After speeches by officials, the Thai ambassador gave Varank a sapling and a show by the Turkish Muay Thai Federation was performed for the audience.

Guests were served traditional Thai food and beverages.