ID :
143513
Sat, 09/25/2010 - 12:55
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/143513
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Thailand requests Kenya for help in rescuing kidnapped Thai worker
NEW YORK, Sept 25 -- Thai Foreign Affairs Minister Kasit Piromya has urged his Kenyan counterpart to help rescue a Thai worker who was kidnapped earlier this week while working on an oil platform in Nigeria’s Niger Delta in West Africa, a senior ministry official said.
Vimol Kidchob, a spokeswoman of the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Mr Kasit had asked for help to secure the release of the unidentified Thai worker during discussions on bilateral relations between the two countries.
Mr Kasit is attending the annual UN General Assembly in New York.
Miss Vimol said Mr Kasit had briefed his counterpart on Thailand dispatching nearly 400 navy personnel earlier this month to join the international naval force combating piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia.
Kenya recommended that close coordination in suppressing piracy in the region should be made between the two countries and promised that it would put efforts to acquire information about the missing Thai worker, Miss Vimol said.
She said the Thai embassy in Lagos, Nigeria is also trying to seek additional information on the abduction.
Three French oil workers and a Thai were kidnapped Wednesday after a group of attackers approached the oil platform in speedboats, then transferred to another vessel to deter pursuit, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report from Lagos.
No ransom demands have yet been made, French foreign affairs ministry spokesman Romain Nadal as saying.
French and Nigerian officials said they suspected the kidnapping was purely criminal, the French news agency said.
Mr Kasit also met with his Sudanese counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Miss Vimol. The Thai diplomat briefed the Sudanese foreign minister on Thailand planning to dispatch soldiers to assist in an international peace-keeping force in November and December with each group comprising 400 soldiers.
The Sudanese foreign minister encouraged Thai business interests to invest in Sudan, she added. (MCOT online news)
Vimol Kidchob, a spokeswoman of the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Mr Kasit had asked for help to secure the release of the unidentified Thai worker during discussions on bilateral relations between the two countries.
Mr Kasit is attending the annual UN General Assembly in New York.
Miss Vimol said Mr Kasit had briefed his counterpart on Thailand dispatching nearly 400 navy personnel earlier this month to join the international naval force combating piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia.
Kenya recommended that close coordination in suppressing piracy in the region should be made between the two countries and promised that it would put efforts to acquire information about the missing Thai worker, Miss Vimol said.
She said the Thai embassy in Lagos, Nigeria is also trying to seek additional information on the abduction.
Three French oil workers and a Thai were kidnapped Wednesday after a group of attackers approached the oil platform in speedboats, then transferred to another vessel to deter pursuit, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report from Lagos.
No ransom demands have yet been made, French foreign affairs ministry spokesman Romain Nadal as saying.
French and Nigerian officials said they suspected the kidnapping was purely criminal, the French news agency said.
Mr Kasit also met with his Sudanese counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Miss Vimol. The Thai diplomat briefed the Sudanese foreign minister on Thailand planning to dispatch soldiers to assist in an international peace-keeping force in November and December with each group comprising 400 soldiers.
The Sudanese foreign minister encouraged Thai business interests to invest in Sudan, she added. (MCOT online news)
