His Majesty is a living symbol of Thailand, the Thai personage the world knows best. Well-established in the ranks of the world's Royalty, he has been honoured for his achievements by governments, organizations and universities around the globe.

In the 1960s, His Majesty accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit travelled abroad to several countries in Asia, America, Europe as well as to Australia and New Zealand. He stated his reasons for going abroad in 1960 as follows:

"This overseas visit is undertaken to serve the country. It is my duty as Head of State. It is common knowledge that during this period every country, big or small, must depend on one another. The peoples of every nationality are related. We should therefore know each other's characters and create mutual understanding. I shall show the people of those countries that the Thai people feel friendship for them. I shall try my utmost to let them know about Thailand and create goodwill towards Thai people."

However, upon completing his trip to the United States and Canada in 1967, His Majesty has gone abroad only once in 1994 to the neighbouring Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Her Majesty the Queen once gave the following explanation:

"His Majesty does not go abroad because he knows that Thailand is heading for danger. He would like to stay close to his subjects to help the poor."

Throughout his reign, His Majesty has contributed immensely to the strengthening of Thailand’s relations with various countries and organizations – welcoming and receiving countless visiting foreign dignitaries and delegations. His rural development activities, including artificial rainmaking techniques and crop substitution projects, undertaken to improve the livelihood of his subjects throughout the kingdom, also served to inspire the kingdom’s diplomacy in its efforts to promote developmental cooperation with other countries in Asia and beyond, earning His Majesty much international recognition.