Source: Australian Embassy Thailand
The Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is visited Phuket on Friday 4 August as part of her visit to Thailand to strengthen bilateral relations.
Ms Bishop formally opened Australia’s Consulate-General in Phuket, at a ceremony that will attended by the Vice Governor of Phuket Ms Siwaporn Chuasawad and other local dignitaries.
Thailand is one of the most popular overseas destinations for Australian tourists, with almost 900,000 Australians visiting Thailand in 2016. Many of them visited Phuket. In its first year of operation, the Australian Consulate-General has been able to provide consular assistance to Australians as well as providing notarial and passport services.
Ms Bishop also visited Patong Beach in Phuket to launch the first Thai language surf lifesaving manual and teaching curriculum, supported by AUD 16,500 (THB 435,000) from the Australian Government’s Direct Aid Program. The manual will bring a standard approach to training Phuket lifesavers, boosting their skills, and helping save the lives of swimmers and surfers from around the world who find themselves in trouble in the water.
Ms Bishop attended a reception to mark the formal opening of the Consulate-General, where there was a fashion parade showcasing locally made clothes sold for charity.
