EU Ambassadors visit Chiang Mai to get local perspective, announce EU Film Festival 2012

A press conference held  by  ambassadors of the European Union on Thursday, June 7,  2012, at  the Chedi Hotel , Chiang Mai.




On June 6-7, Ambassadors of the European Union (EU) gathered in Chiang Mai to hold their monthly meeting outside of the Thai capital for the first time.  The meeting was held in Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok to highlight the importance that the EU attaches to the regional perspectives on the economic and social agenda of the country.  As the visit took place one week before the start of EU Film Festival 2012 in Chiang Mai, Ambassadors also took the opportunity to promote this cultural event.

“There is more to Thailand than Bangkok alone’, said Ambassador David Lipman, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, ‘It is important for us Ambassadors to get a first-hand impression of the situation in other parts of this country as well as in the capital.  We traveled here to exchange views with prominent representatives of the business sector, civil society and academia, and generally get a better understanding of what are the issues that matter to people in Chiang Mai and the northern region at large.”

The Ambassadors of the EU Member States Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden attended the meeting that was chaired by the Ambassador of the European Union, while the Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom will be represented at the level of their Deputy Head of Mission.

This year, the European Union Film Festival 2012 will screen 23 films from 17 different EU Member States and is programmed at Vista Kad Suan Kaew at Kad Suan Kaew Shopping Center and Hotel Complex on Huay Kaew Road, Chiang Mai from 15 to 24 June.  Access to all screenings is free of charge. The programme of the EU Film Festival can be accessed at: www.facebook.com/EUinThailand

For more information, Please contact Khun Kullwadee Sumlanop Tel. 02-3052644, 081-9175602  E-mail: Kullwadee.sumalnop@eeas.europa.eu,