Thai FM to discuss Thai-Cambodian issues with Marty and Hor Namhong during ASEAN summit

BANGKOK, May 6 (TNA) - Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Friday, before leaving for the 18th ASEAN Summit and related meetings in Jakarta, that he would have informal talks with his Indonesian and Cambodian counterparts, Marty Natalegawa and Hor Namhong, on the terms of reference (ToR) for the presence of Indonesian observers in a disputed area along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Kasit told reporters, however, that the issue will not be an important agenda of the upcoming ASEAN summit, as there are many other major issues, including the situation in the Middle East, the problem of piracy in the South China Sea and natural disasters.

Kasit insisted that the Thai government is always ready to fully cooperate with neighbouring countries and has never raised any problem with other parties or caused any trouble to the formation of the ASEAN Community by 2015.

The Thai foreign minister said that he hopes Cambodian leaders will return to negotiations and cooperate for the sake of the unity of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), instead of causing problems to the world community, and that Thailand also wishes to see peace and prosperity in Cambodia. (TNA)