On November 4, 2023, Consul General Somjai Taphaopong, together with officials and staff members from the Royal Thai Consulate General and members of the Thai community, attended the Kathina robe offering ceremony, held at the Thai Cultural Center of New York, on the occasion that His Holiness Somdet Phra Ariyavongsagatayana the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand graciously granted the Kathina robe to Mrs. Suchitra Paleewong, President of the Thai Cultural Center of New York, for presentation to the congregation of monks at Usa Buddhayaram Temple.