Thai Deputy Prime Minister Attends Asean Summit 2011 in Indonesia

BANGKOK, November 13 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong is scheduled to lead a Thai delegation to attend the 19th ASEAN Summit and related forums, to be held on Indonesia's resort Bali Island from November 15-19, on behalf of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Srirat Rastapana, Director General of the Thai Ministry of Commerce's Department of Trade Negotiations, told reporters Sunday that intra-regional issues of the 10-member Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be on top of the ASEAN 2011 Summit agenda. Srirat said that Deputy Premier Kittirat, who is also Commerce Minister concurrently, will also head the Thai delegation to attend the 6th ASEAN Economic Community Ministerial Council, at which regional economic issues earlier discussed by the ASEAN senior officials and ASEAN economic ministers will be raised for further discussions, including progress on and obstacles of preparations for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, based on the AEC Scorecard and the AEC Blueprint, a plan on the establishment of the economic partnership among ASEAN member countries, paving the way for the conclusion of more regional trade and service liberalisation agreements in the future, a proposed framework on non-disparity economic development among member nations, paving the way for equal and sustainable growth and prosperity in the 10-member bloc in the foreseeable future, and proposed solutions to existing problems of individual member countries. According to the senior Thai official, a new East Asia summit, in which the United States and Russia will take part for the first time, as well as talks between the 10-member ASEAN and major non-ASEAN parties, including China, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States and the United Nations, separate meetings of regional finance, customs, energy and farm and forestry authorities and meetings of all ASEAN economic committees, dubbed the "Committee of the Whole", will also be part of the forthcoming five-day ASEAN Summit 2011. (TNA)