US wishes Thais a happy Songkran, vows stronger relations in year ahead
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken wished Thais a happy Songkran while revealing plans for tighter cooperation between the two countries on Friday.
Blinken also congratulated Thailand on elevating the traditional Thai New Year to Unesco cultural heritage and wished its people a peaceful and prosperous new year ahead.
He said he was especially delighted to join Thais in celebrating the holiday’s recent designation as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco, adding that Songkran was just one of many cultural treasures Thailand has shared with the world.
Blinken said he was proud of what the US and Thailand had accomplished over the past year to strengthen their alliance.
To cap the year-long celebrations of the 190th anniversary of US-Thai bilateral ties,
the US was honoured to receive Their Majesties King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida for the opening of the “Weaving Our Stories” exhibition at the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, he added.
The US had also established new academic partnerships and enhanced existing relationships to benefit tens of thousands of Thai and US students, Blinken said.
It had also welcomed a new government under Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, which had brought an increase in high-level engagements and strengthened cooperation on trade and investment, security, humanitarian assistance, climate change, and a range of regional and global challenges.
"In the year ahead, we look forward to realising these opportunities. Our alliance and partnership with Thailand will enable us to achieve a stable, thriving, prosperous, and innovative Indo-Pacific region that benefits the people of Thailand and of the United States," Blinken said.
