Asian ministers to be briefed on Thailand's updated situation

BANGKOK, June 20 (TNA) - Thailand will brief foreign ministers attending the upcoming Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction on reasons and development plans of the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO). Thani Thongpakdi, Thailand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told TNA on Friday that he will use the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR), set to be held in Bangkok from June 22-26, 2014, to brief the participants on the NCPO's roadmap to move domestic political and economic activities forward. Thani said that Thai Army and NCPO Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha is invited to preside over the inauguration of the five-day regional forum, during which he is expected to use the good opportunity to explain Thailand's updated situation. According to the top Thai envoy to the United Nations, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also explained to several foreign countries on reasons why the NCPO staged a coup on May 22, 2014 and many countries are monitoring whether the NCPO is implementing its roadmap, paving the way for a fresh general election within 15 months as announced by the NCPO chief. In an attempt to create proper understanding and confidence in Thailand, the NCPO chief, himself, on Thursday briefed representatives of seven Bangkok-based foreign chambers of commerce on the NCPO's roadmap, covering amendments of laws to further promote trade and investment expansions between Thailand and overseas trading partners. Under the roadmap, the NCPO chief acknowledged, Thailand will also urgently hold trade talks with overseas trading partners, especially those in Europe. The representatives of foreign chambers of commerce attending Thursday's meeting with the NCPO chief, held at the Royal Thai Army Headquarters in Bangkok, include those from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Canada and South Africa.(TNA)