On 18 April 2016, Mr. Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Mr. Poj Harnpol, Minister, attended the International “SPORT” Exhibition 2017 at the Sokolniki Exhibition and Convention Centre, the opening ceremony of which was presided over by Mr. Pavel Kolobkov, Minister of Sport of the Russian Federeation.

The Ambassador welcomed the Sport Minister to the Muay Thai Stage to watch Muay Thai youth exhibition bouts and the qualifying matches for the Muay Thai World Cup to be held in Minsk, Belarus. The Ambassador also visited the Muay Thai Pavilion of the Muay Thai Federation in Russia and discussed with Mr. Dmitry Putilin, Chairman of the Muay Thai Federation, on the promotion of Muay Thai in the Russian Federation. Thereafter, Minister Poj Harnpol joined the Federation in  a roundtable discussion on future cooperation with the Royal Thai Embassy to promote Muay Thai in Russia during the 120^th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Thailand, including the organization in May 2017 of a Muay Thai Master Class Workshop for Russians interested in Muay Thai.

The International “SPORT” Exhibition, organized annually by the Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation in coordination with the Department of Physical Education and Sports of the City of Moscow, is the largest sport expo in Russia. The Exhibition showcases sports products and businesses as well as serves as a venue for networking for experts, trainers and sportsmen from various countries and fields, attracting over 250 companies and more than 20,000 visitors each year. The Muay Thai Pavillion has attracted the largest number of spectators and media, showing  how popular Muay Thai is in Russia.