WMC/IFMA Meeting with Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister
A special meeting was arranged by the new Minister for Sport and Tourism, Her Excellency Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul. The meeting was attended by the President of the World Muaythai Council under patronage of his Majesty the King General, Chetta Tanajaro, Dr Sakchye Tapsuwan, the President of IFMA and President of Amateur Muaythai Association of Thailand under patronage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Stephan Fox, the International Vice President of WMC and General Secretary. The international office team also attended the meeting, led by Charissa Tynan, the Sports Director.
A congratulatory letter from His Excellency Karim Massimov, President of the Asian Muaythai Federation, FAMA and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan was presented to the Minister. General Chetta congratulated her Excellency for her newly appointed position and he is looking forward to a close cooperation in order to continue to foster and promote Muaythai as a cultural heritage towards a worldwide recognition because through Muaythai, the world has come to learn cultural values passed down from generation to generation for over a thousand years.
Dr.Sakchye Tapsuwan, presented his most respectful greeting as the President of IFMA and the sole recognised National Federation of Muaythai of Thailand. He promises to continue, through the National Federation, to promote Muaythai as a cultural art form, a self-defense, a competition sport and a Thai way of life.
Later on, Stephan Fox made a detailed presentation on behalf of the International Muaythai community showcasing the work that has been done in the past as well as our current status with the inclusion of Muaythai into the World Combat Games and the International World Games both under the patronage of the IOC. Mr.Fox also presented the on-going process that Muaythai is in for the IOC recognition.
Her Excellency stated that as a Thai, she is truly proud of her ancestors but it also fills her with pride to know that Muaythai has gained such recognition within the world sporting community and that WMC and IFMA has done so much to spread the Thai cultures and values to all parts of the globe. She also added that as Minister she will her do her best to support Muaythai but most importantly, as a Thai, she feels obliged in doing so.
