ASEAN chief suggests Thailand to expedite education development

BANGKOK, March 3 (TNA) - ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has suggested that Thailand expedite its education development, as a single community of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Thailand is a member, is scheduled to be established by 2015. During his speech on strengthening community people and making ASEAN a better place to live delivered at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (BITEC) Saturday morning, Surin, who is a former Thai foreign minister, said Thailand’s education system is to be further improved to enable youths to be well-prepared in competing with their fellows in other ASEAN member countries once the ASEAN single community is formed. Simultaneously, Surin acknowledged, local people also have a significant role to play in strengthening their own communities, with outstanding work in each community to be used to display the strength of that particular community without having to wait for help from the central government. On national security, the ASEAN chief said that the Thai government is to find ways in preventing conflicts to protect and promote Thailand's investment and tourism. According to the visiting ASEAN secretary-general the 10-member bloc has diversification of societies and these societies want to preserve their outstanding characteristics, including races, cultures, languages, religions and goodwills, with a persisting problem of how to manage them. The ASEAN chief advised that the problem could be solved through respecting rules, ensuring indiscrimination and combining every valuable objects into practice for the sustainable development. (TNA)