On 29 July 2014, H.E. Mr. Pisanu Suvanajata, Ambassador of Thailand to Myanmar, attended the festival to celebrate the “National Thai Language Day” at the Yangon University of Foreign Languages (YUFL).

          It is the first time that YUFL organized this festival, with the helping hands of 4 Thai teaching assistants from Naresuan University to support the improvement of teaching and learning.  The Thai language at YUFL is one of the nine languages taught as a major and is a popular course among Myanmar youth as reflected by the increasing number of students enrolled in the course each year.   The Thai Language Studies at YUFL has been supported since 2009 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, in collaboration with Naresuan University, under the Project “Curriculum Development in Teaching Thai Language at YUFL”. The Festival provided an opportunity for Myanmar students to practise Thai language and learn about Thai culture, through cooking demonstration, costumes and plays, exhibition of books and products from Thailand, and short essay competition.

          In his remarks, the Ambassador highlighted the importance of languages and cultures as a tool of friendship to further cultivate ties and understanding between peoples.  He pledged that the Royal Thai Government continues to support the Thai Department at YUFL, not only to improve the Thai studies, but also as a means to further strengthen people-to-people relations. 

          On this occasion, the Ambassador visited the newly established Thai Study Centre, which was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand to commemorate the 65^th anniversary of the establishment of Thailand-Myanmar diplomatic relations in 2013.  The Centre, equipped with books and CDs, computers and audio-visual instruments, is designed to provide friendly environment for students to undertake individual study and practise Thai language.