A joint commemorative stamp celebrating the 60th anniversary of Pakistan-Thailand diplomatic relations was formally launched at an impressive ceremony held in Bangkok, according to a message received here.
Thailand's Minister for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Group Captain Anudith Nakornthap was the chief guest. Pakistan's Ambassador to Thailand Sohail Mahmood was also present on the occasion.
The joint stamp has been designed and issued through close collaboration between Pakistan Post and Thailand Post. The stamp depicts iconic images of Minar-e-Pakistan (Lahore) and Victory Monument (Bangkok). It also contains the national flags of the two countries and includes description of the occasion, ie 60th anniversary of Pakistan-Thailand Diplomatic Relations. The stamp issued by Pakistan Post was unveiled in Islamabad on December 13.
At the launch ceremony, organised at Thailand's National Museum of Philately, President of Thailand Post, Anusara Chittmittrapap noted the development of friendly and co-operative ties between Pakistan and Thailand over the past 60 years and highlighted the close co-ordination that took place between the Postal authorities of the two countries to issue the commemorative stamp jointly.
She expressed the hope that the stamp would help carry the story of Thailand-Pakistan relations to the coming generations. In his remarks, Pakistan Ambassador Sohail Mahmood thanked the senior officials of Thailand and Pakistan Post for their excellent work in developing a beautiful stamp.
He also highlighted the various activities, including book exchanges and photographic exhibition, organised recently to celebrate the 60th anniversary in a befitting manner.
He stressed that, along with broadening and deepening government-to-government co-operation, concrete steps were being taken to strengthen people-to-people contacts between the two countries and the issuance of the joint stamp was a step in that direction.
Thai ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap underscored the importance of the joint stamp in connection with the 60th anniversary and stressed that it would help both the countries further consolidate economic, social and cultural co-operation in the coming years.
Senior officials of Thailand Post, representative from Thai Foreign Ministry, officers of Pakistan Embassy and key members of Thai-Pakistani community attended the ceremony. Thailand Post has printed 700,000 stamps and a large number of first-day covers for stamp-lovers and collectors. This is the first time ever that a joint stamp has been issued by Pakistan and Thailand.