Meet with Thai communities in the consular jurisdiction

On April 17, 2026, Ms. Somjai Taphaopong, Consul General in New York, together with Mr. Khanthong Nuanual, Deputy Consul General and Ms. Thammajit Thitimontre, Consul, met Thai community in New Hampshire and Maine. She and her team also met with Thai residents to learn about their livelihoods, Consul General and her team briefly provided information about consular services, especially the mobile consular services which organized in Massachusetts, discussed about challenges regarding previous overseas voting and referendum.  Consul General also encouraged Thai citizens register themselves with the Consulate General to keep the database up to date to improve consular services more efficiently.

On April 18^th2026, Consul General and her team met and held discussion with the venerable Phra Ajahn Jayanto, the Abbot of the Jetavana Temple Forest Monastery in New Hampshire.  During the visit, Consul General joined Thai and international visitors in celebrating the Songkran by offering alms to the monks, listen to a Dhamma talk, and participating in the traditional water pouring ceremony to promote and preserve traditional Thai Songkran festival.

Jetavana Temple Forest Monastery located in Temple, New Hampshire, there are currently six international monks in the Monastery.  In addition, on that day, the Monastery gave permission for the fire drills of local fire department to take place in the Monastery’s premises.  It reflected the determination of the Monastery in supporting local activity and harmoniously be part of the community and participate in public service activities.

Community outreach is a key activity of the Royal Thai Consulate-General in New York. These visits aim to strengthen relations and build familiarity with Thai communities in the ten northeastern states under the Consulate’s jurisdiction. They also provide an opportunity to gather information on local needs and ensure that the Consulate’s service reach out to the communities effectivity.