His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam consented to make a goodwill call on His Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and also consented to meet with Yingluck Shinawatra, the Prime Minister of Thailand at Bangkok's Government House yesterday.

Brunei's benevolent monarch was welcomed by His Majesty the King of Thailand at the Sommit Thewara. At the end of the goodwill call, the King of Thailand presented a gift to His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

Last His Majesty met Thailand's Prime Minister at the Government House, where she greeted the monarch upon arrival.

His Majesty proceeded to the Thai Koo Fah Building, where His Majesty was introduced to the Thai dignitaries, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary General to the Prime Minister, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police.

Yingluck was then introduced to the members of the Brunei delegation.

His Majesty and the Thai Prime Minister then proceeded to the Government House's Purple Room, where the monarch was introduced to members of the Thai Cabinet and the Heads of Foreign Missions in Thailand.

The ruler then moved to the Outer Ivory Room, where His Majesty consented to sign the Government's Guestbook, before a four-eye meeting followed between His Majesty and the Thai Prime Minister.

At the end of the meeting, the two leaders moved to the Santi Maitri Building to view an exhibition, which featured a number of exhibitors displaying various aspects of Thai arts and culture.

This included an exhibit by the Rajamangala University of Technology's Faculty of Home Economics Technology, which showcased their courses on fruit and vegetable carving, fashion design and handmade products, handicraft production as well as Thai cooking.

The Thai arts and culture demonstration also saw a display of handmade leather carvings used for shadow silhouettes, as well as a display of Thai handicrafts in the form of Yan Lipao basketry and Kreung Thom Thong (also known as Gold Nelloware).

There was also a demonstration of a Thai traditional alto fiddle, before His Majesty proceeded to the dining hall for a dinner hosted by the Thai Prime Minister in His Majesty's honour.

A cultural troupe performed during the dinner, and His Majesty presented a representative of the troupe with a bouquet of flowers, before consenting to receive a pesambah from Yingluck.

Also in attendance yesterday were Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Minister of Finance II at the Prime Minister's Office and Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade II, as well as other senior officials.

According to an earlier press release from the Department of Information under Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, His Majesty's official visit to Thailand is considered to provide a good opportunity for Thailand and Brunei to further enhance their mutual cooperation for the benefit of the two countries and peoples. - Borneo Bulletin (1 July 2012)