Speech by Ambassador Touchayoot Pakdi (as delivered) at the Reception on the Occasion of H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 86th Birthday Anniversary Thursday, 4 December 2013, at the Royal Thai Embassy __________ Your Excellency General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Honorable Representative of the Royal Government of Cambodia, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Jum Rieb Sua. Som Swakum. Swasdee Krab. ขอต้อนรับครับ. Good Evening, Welcome, It is a great pleasure and an honor for me to warmly welcome you to the celebration of the Auspicious Occasion of the 86th Birthday Anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of the Kingdom of Thailand today. His Majesty the King’s Birthday Anniversary is always a time of great joy for Thais, as we reflect on His Majesty’s continuing life long work which has contributed tremendously to the development of Thailand. His Majesty’s ideas have initiated thousands of Royal Projects, especially in areas of agriculture, water resources, environmental conservation, alternative energy, sufficient economy, and ways of life, which have improved the livelihood of the Thai people. His Majesty’s ideas have been more and more shared to the world. Your Excellency Deputy Prime Minister, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, As Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Kingdom of Cambodia, it is an honor and pleasure to witness yet another year of strong and dynamic bilateral cooperation, friendship and good neighborliness between the two countries. Exchange of visits of high-level officers of Thailand and Cambodia has increased, and cooperation in all areas has grown. At the governmental level, a new bilateral forum, the Joint Committee on Border Area Development and Connectivity between Cambodia and Thailand was established, with the aim of turning the area along the common border into “A Border of Peace, Friendship and Prosperity”, thus providing a new forum for discussion and implementation of common border area development in all aspects. Trade volume and the number of tourists between the two countries continue to flourish. Your Excellency Deputy Prime Minister, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, My colleagues and I look forward to years of fruitful cooperation and to work even closer with friends and colleagues to strengthen the relationship between Thailand and Cambodia in all fields of mutual interest. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the various agencies of the Royal Government of Cambodia and the Cambodian people for their kind assistance and cooperation rendered to the Royal Thai Embassy and the Thai community in the Kingdom of Cambodia throughout the years. Your Excellency Deputy Prime Minister, Your Highnesses, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends and Colleagues, May I now invite you to join me in a toast :- 2 to the good health, success, happiness and prosperity of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of the Kingdom of Thailand. to the good health, success, happiness and prosperity of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, King of Cambodia, and to the good health, success, happiness and prosperity of Her Majesty NORODOM MONINEATH SIHANOUK, the Queen-Mother of Cambodia, And, to the everlasting friendship, happiness and prosperity between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Kingdom of Cambodia, their Governments, and their Peoples. * * * * *