Enhancing Vietnam-Thailand cooperation in the field of culture, sports and tourism

(To Quoc) - On the afternoon of March 26, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh had a working session with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam, Ms. Urawadee Sriphiromya, to discuss measures to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of culture, sports and tourism.

At the beginning of the working session, Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh happily welcomed Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya to visit and work at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and congratulated the Ambassador on having a successful first year in his term of office in Vietnam.

Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh emphasized that in the context of many fluctuations in the world and the region, the Party and State of Vietnam always attach importance to and promote cooperation within the ASEAN bloc, in which Thailand is one of the leading important partners, a "close brother". The Vietnam - Thailand relationship is not only limited to economic, political and strategic partnership but also comprehensive companionship in many fields. The Deputy Minister also recalled the historical mark when President Ho Chi Minh once worked in Thailand.

Overview of the working session. (Photo: Thu Mai)

For her part, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya thanked Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh for taking the time to receive the delegation. She expressed her honor to assume the role of Ambassador during the period when the Vietnam - Thailand cooperative relationship is developing strongly, towards the potential to upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the near future. The Ambassador shared about the outstanding plans for 2025, especially the organization of the Thai Festival at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel (Hanoi) from March 28 - 30. The event promises to bring many rich experiences in cuisine, culture and sports, contributing to strengthening the connection between the people of the two countries.

The Ambassador also expressed his wish to receive support from the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to successfully organize a series of meaningful cultural and artistic events to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic relations in 2026.

In the field of cinema, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya hopes to expand cooperation by connecting filmmakers and film distributors of the two countries, as well as introducing many famous Thai films in Vietnam and vice versa. Thailand also plans to invite stars and producers to visit Vietnam, creating opportunities for large-scale delegation exchanges.

Regarding tourism, the Ambassador reiterated the "6 countries, 1 destination" initiative and proposed studying the possibility of applying a common visa for the region, developing common tourism promotion programs, key tourism seasons and enhancing transport infrastructure connectivity (roads, railways). Emphasizing that Vietnam and Thailand still maintain the Joint Committee mechanism on bilateral cooperation, the Ambassador believes that this is the foundation for continuing to develop increasingly deep relations in many fields.

Expressing his support for these proposals, Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh hoped that joint tourism promotion programs between the two countries would create opportunities for tourists from third countries to easily explore the beauty and cultural diversity of both Vietnam and Thailand, while effectively exploiting each side's tourism strengths to attract international tourists, especially from distant markets.

Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh presents a souvenir to the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand to Vietnam. (Photo: Thu Mai)

In the field of sports, both sides look forward to the friendly match between the Vietnam - Thailand U17 women's football team going well. Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh said that the competition in sports between the two countries is a positive driving force for mutual development. In his capacity as Vice President of the Vietnam Vovinam Federation, the Deputy Minister asked Thailand to support Vovinam becoming an official sport at the upcoming SEA Games.

Not only stopping at traditional cooperation areas, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya also emphasized the important role of the Vietnamese community in Thailand. She said that this is a valuable resource, an effective "extended arm" that needs to be further promoted in promoting unique products and Vietnamese cultural values ​​to the majority of Thai people, contributing to enhancing understanding and trade between the two countries. A touching and meaningful demonstration of this connection is that painter Dao Trong Ly, an overseas Vietnamese artist living and working in Thailand, after displaying 55 paintings of President Ho Chi Minh at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, donated all of these works to the Museum.

Delegates take souvenir photos. (Photo: Thu Mai)

Aiming to enrich cultural exchange activities, especially attracting the attention of young people, the Ambassador also shared about the plan to bring pop bands and famous Thai artists and music stars to Vietnam to perform and exchange in the near future. This activity is expected to create a vibrant atmosphere, enhance empathy and connect modern cultures between the two countries. Finally, with sincere feelings, Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya expressed her deep admiration for the precious discipline, diligence, hard work and the will to constantly improve of the Vietnamese people. She believes that these good qualities are the solid foundation for Vietnam to continue to achieve even greater achievements in the future.

At the end of the working session, Permanent Deputy Minister Le Hai Binh sincerely thanked the Ambassador personally for his tireless efforts and positive contributions to fostering bilateral relations in the past time and believed that in the coming years, the Ambassador will continue to be more successful in his position. The Permanent Deputy Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is ready to coordinate, support and create favorable conditions for the cooperation activities between the two sides in the fields of culture, sports and tourism to become increasingly in-depth and effective, contributing to consolidating and further developing the good friendship between Vietnam and Thailand; expressing his trust and looking forward to meaningful and practical cooperation activities and new steps forward in the comprehensive cooperation relationship between the two countries in the coming time.

Source: https://toquocweb.dev.cnnd.vn/tiep-tuc-lam-sau-sac-va-nang-tam-quan-he-hop-tac-viet-nam-va-thai-lan-trong-linh-vuc-van-hoa-the-thao-du-lich-20250326195252438.htm