Thai PM to attend GMS meeting in Myanmar

CHIANG MAI, December 17 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Saturday she will attend a Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) meeting in Myanmar early next week, when she will also meet Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Speaking during her weekly address in Chiang Mai Province in the Thai North, Yingluck told the public that she will pay a two-day visit to Myanmar, starting from December 19 to attend the next summit of leaders of GMS member countries, including Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Yingluck acknowledged that she will also meet Aung San Suu Kyi during her stay in Myanmar and will exchange views with the latter on democracy, taking the opportunity to urge everybody in Thailand to nourish democracy in the country through peace and reconciliation as well to sustain the Thai Kingdom as the "Land of Smiles." The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced earlier that Thai Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul will accompany Premier Yingluck to Myanmar, and that major issues to be discussed at the forthcoming GMS meeting include ways to further enhance economic development for countries along the Mekong River basin. (TNA)