ASEAN SUMMIT RESCHEDULED TO FEBRUARY By Mohd Nasir Yusoff

JAKARTA, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Asean foreign ministers on Monday agreed to rescheduled the 14th Asean Summit, with Thailand as the host, to February next year, Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan said.

Dr Surin told a news conference after attending a special Asean foreign
ministers meeting here that the ministers also expressed confidence and
solidarity with Thailand as the Asean Chair and host of the summit.

The meeting, held at the Asean Secretariat, was attended by foreign
ministers of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore
and Vietnam as well as Laos deputy foreign minister, a Cambodian senior official
and the Asean secretary-general.

Dr Mun Patanotai, Thai's Information and Communication Technology Minister
and special envoy of the Thai government, chaired the meeting.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Rais Yatim told Malaysian
journalists that the date of the summit was tentatively set for Feb
23-26.

Meanwhile, Dr Mun said, Thailand was ready to convene the summit.

"In this connection, we wish to thank our Asean colleagues for their
understanding of the recent decision to re-schedule the summit," he
said.

The summit was supposed to be held this month but had to be postponed
following the ongoing political crisis in Thailand.

-- BERNAMA