On 18 April 2024, Mrs. Eksiri Pintaruchi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted a luncheon in honour of Mrs. Bénédicte Épinay, Déléguée Générale and CEO of Comité Colbert and Mr. Laurent Dhennequin, Director of Cabinet of Comité Colbert on the occasion of their visit to Thailand from 16 to 18 April 2024 at the invitation of the Prime Minister during his official visit to France in March 2024.

On this occasion, both sides exchanged views on the development of soft power strategies and how to elevate Thailand’s local heritage and artisanal products to the international level, creating more economic opportunities and growth. Given the high value and worldwide recognition of French creative economy industry, Thailand can learn from this success in passing on the know-how to the younger generation, and build a sustainable ecosystem that would strengthen the national soft power and creative economy. Both sides also agreed on the importance of nurturing youth and the young entrepreneurs, while France expressed its readiness to cooperate and support knowledge transfer to Thailand.

During the field trip, the delegation visited various significant locations, including Siam Paragon shopping mall, Icon Siam, the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles, and the Arts of the Kingdom Museum, to learn about Thailand’s potential in artisanal craftsmanship. The delegation also conducted a lecture and exchanged views on the experience of Comité Colbert with the National Soft Power Strategy Committee.

This visit reflects the strong commitment of Thailand and France to closely collaborate to develop the untapped Thailand’s potential in the field of arts and crafts, in order to enhance the brand building and value of the Thai artisanal products that will bring about mutual benefits for the people and economy of both sides.