126th Commemoration of King Chulalongkorn’s Visit to Ragunda, Sweden

          On 19 July 2023, Ambassador Arunrung Phothong Humphreys, together with Group Captain Putthapong Phalajivin and staff from the Royal Thai Embassy, the Office of the Defence Attache, and Tourism Authority of Thailand in Stockholm, participated in the 126th commemoration of King Chulalongkorn’s visit to Ragunda at the Thai Pavilion in Utanede, Bispgården. The ceremony was annually organised by the Ragunda Municipality.

          The party joined a procession to pay respect to His Majesty King Chulalongkorn. Also in attendance were the delegations from Ragunda Municipality, United Thai-Sweden Foundation 1897, the Bangkok Municipality Council, and Thai communities and their Swedish families all over Sweden such as Sundsvall, Örnsköldsvik, Uppsala, and Göteborg. In his speech, Mr. Lennart Raswill, Mayor of Ragunda emphasised the importance of the memorial site as a reflection of close friendship between Thais and Swedes, and that the Ragunda Municipality will continue to maintain the memorial in good condition. In reply, Ambassador Arunrung expressed her gratitude for the municipality’s efforts in the maintenance of the memorial, as it is a reflection of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn’s far-sightedness in modernising Thailand through gathering and adapting the contemporary western technologies and knowledge within the Thai context, as well as promoting the visibility of the Thailand, by traveling to various destinations in the world, including Ragunda, where the landmark of the strong relations between Thailand and Sweden now stand.

          The Ambassador also thanked the Thai people for their participation, which promotes better understanding among Swedish people of the Thais’ gratitude for the kindness of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn, and that the sentiment is ingrained in the hearts of the Thai people at home and abroad. Later in the day, The Ambassador also gave interviews to SVT (https://www.svt.se/…/thailands-ambassador-pa-plats-vid…) and Östersunds Posten on the event.