On 2 August 2019, Mrs. Narirat Pramudwinai, spouse of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, led the spouses of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and External Partners from 6 countries, namely Mrs. Nguyen Nguyet Nga, Spouse of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, Datin Norlin Binti Shamsul Bahri, Spouse of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Madame Maria Lourdes B. Locsin, Spouse of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines, Mrs. Joy Balakrishnan, Spouse of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, Mrs. Lwin Lwin Hman, Spouse of Union Minister for International Cooperation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and Mrs. Susan Pompeo, Spouse of the Secretary of State of the United States of America on a visit to Thai Food Heritage, as part of the Spouse Programme on the occasion of the 52^nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, Post Ministerial Conferences, and Related Meetings hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

          The participating spouses expressed their appreciation to the host for arranging the visit to Thai Food Heritage, Thailand’s first creative learning center for Thai food and Thai culture under the National Food Institute, the Ministry of Industry. They were particularly interested in viewing exhibitions on the royally-initiated projects on water and soil management guided by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great. These projects have helped enhance the sociological environment and uplift the well-being of the Thai people by making them more self-reliant. The spouses acknowledged that the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy has been embraced by the Royal Thai Government and placed high on the Royal Thai Government’s National Development Strategy of “Stronger Together and Leave No One Behind” which is in line with Thailand’s theme for the ASEAN Chairmanship this year of “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability”. The spouses were also greatly interested in Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s work on the preservation of authentic Thai recipes.

           The spouses were able to explore the interactive exhibitions on the Thai food wisdom and the authentic Thai taste. This enabled them to learn about the National Food Institute (NFI)’s vision and work in promoting Thai food and related food industries in global markets by enhancing competitiveness, expanding distribution channels, and raising awareness of Thai food standard and authentic Thai taste through new technologies and innovations. These strategies will further strengthen Thailand’s progress towards becoming the “Kitchen of the World”. The spouses were also able to learn more about what lay behind the authentic Thai taste and the health benefits of Thai ingredients and herbs by watching a cooking demonstration of one of the most famous Thai street food dishes – “Stir-fried Thai Noodle” or “Phad Thai”. They were then invited to take part in an authentic Thai taste cooking workshop focusing on the Thai signature dish – “Tom Yum soup with prawns” or “Tom Yum Kung” which was served during a Gala Dinner hosted by Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and spouse on 1 August 2019, at the World Ballroom, the Centara Grand at Central World.

          After the visit to Thai Food Heritage, the Spouse of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand hosted an authentic Thai food luncheon for the spouses at Sala Rim Naam, the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok.

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