On 28 – 30 May 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Mr. Nathapol Khantahiran, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, together with Mr. Worawoot Pongprapapant, Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs, Mr. Thanawat Sirikul, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Information, and Mr. Pongprach Makchang, Deputy Director-General of the Department of South Asian, Middle East, and African Affairs, took the Ministry’s officials and members of the Thai media to Narathiwat province and Kota Bharu, Malaysia, as part of the project to promote the Ministry’s proactive public diplomacy mission in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces.

The Delegation, comprising of 38 members, participated in a briefing on the fixed and permanent boundary demarcation along the Golok River which Thailand and Malaysia have together implemented the boundary survey and demarcation since 1973 to reduce border-related conflicts, enhance security, and promote border trades. The group also attended the opening of the seminar on “Boundary Practice and Border Management in the Golok River area and Community Engagement Activities” organized by the Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, MFA, to enhance understanding of boundary practices and border management in the Golok River area to local government officers, together with surveying on the 2nd Rantau Panjang – Sungai Golok Bridge construction area.

In Kota Bharu, the delegation received a briefing at the Royal Thai Consulate-General about the DNA Testing Programme for Thai nationals residing in Malaysia who are not yet legally recognized. The programme, launched in 2017 and conducted by the Thai Consulate-General and other relevant agencies, aims to help Thai nationals born and resided in Malaysia to register themselves with the Thai civil registration system, so that they could get access to the Thai public services. This year, the Consulate-General provided services to 235 people for the testing, the highest number since the start of the programme. The delegation also visited Phikulthong Vararam Temple to meet the community of Siamese Malaysian, where Thai language, Buddhism and Thai culture are taught to the community’s children.

Furthermore, the group also attend “Let’s Go Green!” workshop at Ban Sungai Golok School, which is part of the 1st MFA on Tour of 2024 organized by the Department of Information, in collaboration with UNICEF Thailand, United Nations in Thailand. The workshop aimed to promote understanding among young people on new global challenges, and also visited Valentine Panmai cactus orchard and Saloma Patek to help support and promote the local small enterprises.