Thai monarch to make first Laos visit in 32 years

Their Majesties the King and the Queen will pay a State Visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic from March 16 to 18 at the invitation of Thongloun Sisoulith, President of Laos.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida will undertake the visit to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and close relations between Thailand and Laos, according to a press release issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

The trip will mark the first visit by a Thai monarch to Laos in 32 years. The last was made by King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit on April 7–8, 1994.

During the visit, the King and Queen will attend an official welcoming ceremony and meet President Thongloun and his spouse at the Presidential Palace on March 17.

They will also grant audiences to Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and his spouse, as well as Xaysomphone Phomvihane, President of the National Assembly of Laos, and his spouse.

In the evening, the royal couple will attend a blessing ceremony and a State banquet hosted by the Lao president at the Presidential Palace.

During their stay in Vientiane, the King and Queen will also visit the Huayxone–Huayxua Agricultural Development Service Centre, the first royal project established in Laos on the initiative of King Bhumibol.

They will pay homage at Pha That Luang, Laos’ most revered Buddhist monument where sacred relics of the Buddha are enshrined, and view an exhibition of Lao silk and traditional textiles at the Traditional Lao Silk Residence.

The visit follows the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Laos, commemorated in 2025, and is expected to further deepen cooperation and longstanding people-to-people ties between the neighbouring countries.