เมื่อวันที่ ๒๑ ธันวาคม ๒๕๕๘ นายดอน ปรมัตถ์วินัย รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงการต่างประเทศ เข้าร่วมงานฉลอง ๕๐ ปี ความสัมพันธ์ไทย-สิงคโปร์ ณ Victoria Theatre สาธารณรัฐสิงคโปร์ ในการเปิดงาน นายบรรสาน บุนนาค เอกอัครราชทูต ณ สิงคโปร์ ได้กล่าวในนามของรัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงการต่างประเทศ ดังนี้
Your Excellency Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand,
And Madam Narirat Pramudwinai
Your Excellency Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Singapore,
and Madam Joy Balakrishnan,
Excellencies, Ambassadors, Director-Generals, and their family members,
Honourable guests,
Dear friends of Thailand,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
สวัสดีครับ - It is a great pleasure and an honour for me to welcome you to ‘A Thai Cultural Evening in Singapore’ tonight on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand. This is yet another activity, a finale before the year ends, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Singapore. It is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the Thai Foundation, to share with our Singaporean friends the Thai culture in the forms of
‘Khon’, a Thai masked opera, and traditional Thai dances.
We are truly honoured tonight by the presence of His Excellency Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan and his wife, Madam Joy Balakrishnan, despite their busy schedules. We also have the pleasure of having the company of the diplomatic corps, various agencies and distinguished individuals in Singapore, who graced us tonight.
It is such a privilege to have a large and diverse audience, and therefore a reason to rejoice the chance to celebrate our friendship together in this majestically beautiful Victoria Theatre.
Distinguished Guests,
Thailand and Singapore have enjoyed long-standing and close relations that dated back more than a hundred years ago when King Rama the Fifth laid our diplomatic foundation by visiting Singapore, then part of the Straits Settlement. Later, with His Majesty’s amazingly far-sighted vision, he honoured the relations of Siam, as Thailand was called then, with Singapore by acquiring a piece of land on Orchard Road, where the Royal Thai Embassy now stands. In 1965, Thailand was among the first thirteen countries to recognize Singapore’s independence.
Since then, our countries and leaders have maintained close relations in all areas of cooperation. Thailand’s royal family members have visited Singapore on numerous occasions. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is a frequent visitor—mainly because of Her Royal Highness’s interest in and affiliation with educational and cultural institutes here. I wish to take this opportunity to express my gratefulness to the Singapore government, that every time Her Royal Highness visits Singapore, Her Royal Highness was always accorded a very warm and honourable welcome. His Excellency Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has visited Singapore three times already since assuming office last year; namely, to pay respect to the
late Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, the founding father of Singapore who is one of the greatest leaders of our time, for the Leaders’ Retreat with His Excellency Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and to attend the SG50 celebration. Today, our peoples simply enjoy visiting one another’s country as favourite shopping and holiday destination. Our athletes recently competed, and made friends, at the SEA Games and Para Games for which Singapore was an impeccable host. Our armed forces train together, especially on the rough terrains in Thailand, and exchange regular visits, while our trade and investment picture is still strong despite global challenges. And it is not only bilateral relations that matter. Our countries also work closely as part of the ASEAN
family and in many other multilateral fora. Indeed, we share so many common interests in the region that I cannot mention all of them here.
Distinguished guests,
Tonight’s performance will feature ‘Khon’, a Thai rendition of the Ramayana epic, choreographed according to the unique, traditional Thai dance. The word ‘Khon’ means ‘heads’, and by extension, ‘masks’, which are used by actors to represent the godly characters of the Ramakian, the Thai version of the Ramayana. Hence, they are considered symbols of the gods. The Ramakian teaches us many things—loyalty of the people towards their kings, the love between siblings, and moral lessons. In the Thai culture, ‘Khon’ has become a national form of art which is ruled by strict convention passed down for hundreds of years. Thailand and her people, therefore, take much pride in preserving this heritage and using their creativity to maintain and enhance its distinct charm.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me end my remarks by again thanking you, on behalf of His Excellency Foreign Minister Don and the Royal Thai Embassy, for honouring us with your presence and support for this event. It is my humble yet fervent
hope that you will enjoy and remember this ‘Thai Cultural Evening in Singapore’ as your Christmas and New Year present from the Thai people, and as a gift to mark another milestone of our partnership, friendship, and goodwill. I wish you all a pleasant evening, and a new year filled with good luck and many happy returns. Happy Birthday Singapore. Happy ST50, the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, and happy everlasting friendship between our two countries.
Thank you and enjoy the show. ขอบคุณครับ
--กองการสื่อมวลชน กรมสารนิเทศ กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ--