ID :
41424
Mon, 01/19/2009 - 10:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/41424
The shortlink copeid
ASEAN COUNTRIES CONFIRM SUMMIT ATTENDANCE By D. Arul Rajoo
BANGKOK, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Leaders of the 10-member Asean have confirmed participation in the 14th Asean Summit to be held in Hua Hin from Feb 27 to March 1, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said Sunday.
Speaking on the state-run National Broadcast Television (NBT) channel, he
said it would be the first time the summit would be held under the Asean Charter
which came to force last December.
Abhisit said the summit would provide the opportunity to improve the
country's image which was severely dented by the six-month long street protests,
as well as closure of Bangkok's two major airports in November.
The summit was initially scheduled to be held in Bangkok from Dec 15 to 18,
but was later moved to Chiang Mai due to the political crisis.
Earlier, there was speculation that Cambodia might skip the event when
Thailand again changed the venue and picked the resort town of Hua Hin.
But the Asean Plus Three and Asean Plus Six Summits were postponed to April
as some leaders of the the region's dialogue partners could not attend the
February meeting.
Abhisit, who became premier in December, said the government allocated Bt30
billion baht to assist farmers, with priority for rubber and palm oil.
He said under the BT115 billion stimulus package announced last week, the
government had set aside Bt20 billion to help poor people in rural areas while
those earning below Bt15,000 a month would be given Bt2,000 monthly
allowance to cope with the economic downturn and rising living costs.
According to him, the economy was expected to recover by the second-half of
the year, following various measures taken by the government to mitigate the
effect from the global slowdown.
Among the measures being taken by the Thai Government to revive the economy,
especially the lucrative tourism sector, are to waive visa fees for tourists
from all countries for three months and reduce landing and parking fees at the
country's international airports. (US$1=Bt35)
-- BERNAMA
Speaking on the state-run National Broadcast Television (NBT) channel, he
said it would be the first time the summit would be held under the Asean Charter
which came to force last December.
Abhisit said the summit would provide the opportunity to improve the
country's image which was severely dented by the six-month long street protests,
as well as closure of Bangkok's two major airports in November.
The summit was initially scheduled to be held in Bangkok from Dec 15 to 18,
but was later moved to Chiang Mai due to the political crisis.
Earlier, there was speculation that Cambodia might skip the event when
Thailand again changed the venue and picked the resort town of Hua Hin.
But the Asean Plus Three and Asean Plus Six Summits were postponed to April
as some leaders of the the region's dialogue partners could not attend the
February meeting.
Abhisit, who became premier in December, said the government allocated Bt30
billion baht to assist farmers, with priority for rubber and palm oil.
He said under the BT115 billion stimulus package announced last week, the
government had set aside Bt20 billion to help poor people in rural areas while
those earning below Bt15,000 a month would be given Bt2,000 monthly
allowance to cope with the economic downturn and rising living costs.
According to him, the economy was expected to recover by the second-half of
the year, following various measures taken by the government to mitigate the
effect from the global slowdown.
Among the measures being taken by the Thai Government to revive the economy,
especially the lucrative tourism sector, are to waive visa fees for tourists
from all countries for three months and reduce landing and parking fees at the
country's international airports. (US$1=Bt35)
-- BERNAMA
