DPM:Thailand is seriously tackling human trafficking

BANGKOK, May 10 (TNA) - The Thai government has insisted with the United States that it is seriously trying to solve the problem of human trafficking and asked Washington not to move Thailand to its worst watch list related to the problem. Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul told journalists on Friday that he made the confirmation with new US Secretary of State John Kerry during his official visit to the United States from May 4-8. Surapong noted he discussed solutions to human trafficking with Kerry, as the US Department of State has kept Thailand in its Tier 2 Watch List, which is the second worst list of countries plagued with human trafficking, and he hopes his explanation on the Thai government's continual solutions should result in the 2013 human trafficking report the US government will do in June, it will not further move Thailand downwards. According to the Thai deputy premier, the US Secretary of States promised he would consider the issue although he was concerned over slow operations of the Thai justice system. The Thai deputy prime minister acknowledged he also asked the United States to support Thailand’s attempt to join the Governing Council of the 127-member Community of Democracies, in which Thailand is a member country, as participation in the governing council shows Thailand is a genuinely democratic country. The Thai deputy prime minister said that he also discussed the regional situation, covering the democratization in Myanmar, and the Thai government's investment plans over the next seven years to develop Thailand into a center of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and that he also tried to boost confidence in Thailand's political stability among foreign investors and called for Washington's increased roles in ASEAN. (TNA)