Thai opposition leader visits Philippines for ASEAN talks

BANGKOK, September 29 (TNA) - Thailand's opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva left for the Philippines this morning to attend an ASEAN summit for political, private and academic sectors, a forum organised as part of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s preparations for the formation of the ASEAN Single Community by 2015.

Abhisit told reporters before his departure that he will meet Philippine President Benigno Aquino III at the regional talks, aimed to be a platform for participants to exchange their views beneficial to the establishment of the ASEAN Community.

Abhisit, who is the leader of the Democrat Party, said that he will also use the forum to urge the private sector to adjust itself toward the regional integration, which will benefit the overall 10-nation bloc's economy as a whole, and will encourage the participants to learn a lesson from the ongoing debt crisis in the 27-member European Union or EU due to some disparity among member countries.

The former Democrat premier suggested that the new Thai government focus more on macro-economic measures to drive ahead national growth and development and limit its populist policies in order to utilise state budget for productive infrastructure investment projects instead. (TNA)