Call on Abhisit Vejjajiva on 22 November 2008

I called on Khun Abhisit Vejjajiva to warmly congratulate him on his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Thailand. We look forward to working with the new Thai government to build on the wide-ranging relationship that already exists between Thailand the UK.  I also presented Khun Abhisit with a Newcastle United shirt with Abisit "27" emblazoned on the back as he is Thailand's 27th Prime Minister.

Opening new Honorary Consulate in Pattaya

On 15 December, I formally opened the Honorary Consulate and launched a leaflet which provides details of consular services offered by the British Embassy in Bangkok and offers advice to British visitors on how to stay safe and what to do if they get into difficulty. 

The Award Ceremony of Schools Ecological Footprint Challenge

I hosted a special event to mark the Thai Environment Day at the Residence on 3 December 2008

Due to the airport closure, I had spent three days travelling from New Zealand to Bangkok to host the event. 

The closure of the two Bangkok airports meant I had to spend up to 3 days to get from New Zealand back to Bangkok. The trip included stops in Singapore and Phuket. Last night, I had to sleep in Chumporn.  Then, get up again at 4 A.M. to get back on the road to Bangkok in time for this very important event. I really wanted to be here as I truly feel Climate Change is the biggest challenge our environment is facing presently.  I am proud that the Embassy has been actively engaged in raising awareness on  Climate Change. We arranged 2 climate change events this year including a poster competition to raise awareness among Thai youth,The second event was an environmental footprint competition to raise awareness in schools, a collaborative effort between the Embassy, British Council, Ministry of Environment and HSBC.