Bangladesh cultural troupe performs in Bangkok

The visiting Bangladesh Cultural Troupe performed yesterday at the auditorium of the Thailand Culture Centre in Bangkok.

The cultural show was staged following the highly successful visit of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia to Thailand in December, 2002, to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and Thailand as well as to further cement the close and shared cultural links between the two countries.

A large number of people from local Thai community, diplomatic circle and Bangladeshis living in Thailand enjoyed the spectacular performance of the artistes of the Bangladesh troupe.

The show was jointly organised by the Bangladesh Embassy in Bangkok and the National Culture Commission of Thailand in cooperation with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Bangladesh.

The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Thailand Hemayetuddin and the Secretary General of the Thai National Culture Commission Dr Ketisak Itchayaman made opening speeches.

Ambassador Hemayetuddin said the visit of the Bangladesh Cultural Troupe was taking place at a time when both Bangladesh and Thailand experienced some spectacular developments in bilateral relations between the two countries.

He said Bangladesh looked upon Thailand as a close neighbour and a very trusted friend. Thai Premier Dr Thaksin Shinawatra's visit to Bangladesh in July 2002 and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's return visit to Thailand were indicatives of the importance of Thailand in Bangladesh's foreign policy, he added.

Ambassador Hemayetuddin said culture had all along played a role of the great communicator. The performance of the Bangladesh cultural team would be successful in reaching the message of peace and friendship that our artistes carried, to the hearts of the Thai people.

The Bangladesh Troupe would perform today at the auditorium of the College of Dramatic Arts in Chiang Mai -- the second largest city of Thailand.

The Troupe performed at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) here on Thursday.