Thai military cooperates well with government

BANGKOK, July 1 (TNA) - Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra says that her government has received good cooperation from the Royal Thai Armed Forces and her concurrent position as the defence minister, in the new Cabinet line-up publicly announced on Sunday, should further boost the cooperation and speed up decisions for public and national interests. Yingluck told journalists on Monday morning that her government and the Royal Thai Armed Forces have done their best in their own tasks for two years. The prime minister pointed out that it will be good if the government can directly discuss work in details with the Royal Thai Armed Forces and can step in to support their work. Regarding the concurrent position of newly-appointed Minister Attached to the Prime Minister’s Office Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan as the Commerce Minister, the prime minister noted that she wants a person with a wide perspective which covers all dimensions of the rice pledging scheme and assistance for local farmers, and that Niwatthamrong now also oversees the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The Thai premier insisted that a Cabinet reshuffle is normal, aimed at enhancing efficiency of the government but not resulting from any problematic minister. (TNA)