The event was co-organized by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Ho Chi Minh City, in coordination with the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in Ho Chi Minh City.
The ceremony was presided over by Thai Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Vijavat Isarabhakdi.
The Thai delegation also included Vorapan Srivoranart, Deputy Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs; officials from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Urawadee Sriphiromya; and Wiraka Moodhitaporn, Thai Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.
On the Vietnamese side, the ceremony was attended by Most Venerable Thich Tri Quang, Supreme Patriarch of the Patronage Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS); Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Ho Chi Minh City Pham Minh Tuan; Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations Tran Xuan Thuy; along with representatives of municipal departments and agencies, the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City, and Thai and Vietnamese Buddhist followers.
His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua of Thailand graciously bestowed the Royal Kathina Robe upon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand for offering to the Buddhist monastic community.
This year’s ceremony marks the 18th Royal Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony organized by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vietnam. It also coincides with the year in which Thailand and Vietnam elevated their bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The event holds special significance as part of activities leading up to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Vietnam in 2026.
The ceremony carried profound significance, not only as a traditional Buddhist merit-making ritual of great spiritual value, but also as part of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ cultural diplomacy program aimed at strengthening international relations, particularly through people-to-people exchanges.
Since 1995, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has annually organized the Royal Kathina Robe Offering Ceremony at Buddhist temples abroad as part of Thailand’s cultural diplomacy efforts to strengthen friendships and foster people-to-people connections through Buddhism. This initiative has gradually expanded to ASEAN countries, South Asia, and East Asia. In 2025, the Royal Kathina Robe Offering will be held in eight countries, including India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, and China.
