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By Noimot Olayiwola
The
Thai Embassy in Qatar, with the support of Grand Hyatt and Qatar
Airways, will organise a grand Thai Festival from September 28 to
October 3, an embassy source told Gulf Times.
The inauguration
dinner of the week-long event, to be held under the patronage of the HE
the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz
al-Kuwari, at the Grand Hyatt Doha, will also mark the 30th anniversary
of the establishment of Thai-Qatar diplomatic ties on August 7, 1980.
A number of senior Qatari officials and diplomatic corps members are expected at the event.
Thailand
receives 14mn tourists annually with up to 260,000 from the Middle East
and it received around 13,000 visitors from Qatar in 2008.
Bangkok’s
envoy in Doha Suvat Chirapant told Gulf Times that the celebration will
promote Thailand as the reliable food supplier to the world, boasting
its rich culture of rice cultivation as being reflected by different
performing arts coming out of the country.
Thailand is the world’s
number one rice exporter at 10mn tons yearly and also one of the top
five halal food exporters with the most advanced technology on halal
laboratory in Southeast Asia.
The festival will feature authentic
Thai cuisine by signature Restaurant of I-Saan from the Northeast of
Thailand and food demonstration and cooking class by wife of the Thai
ambassador Usana Chirapant.
Other highlight will be staged
performance by 14 Thai performing artists showcasing the country’s rice
culture in classical dance, folk dance, martial arts (including Muay
Thai) and arts of food carving.
Another special performance will be presented to the Doha Player community and network at Doha College.
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