"Nong Khai" to become Thailand's gateway to ASEAN

BANGKOK, October 19 (TNA) - The government plans to further develop Thailand’s northeastern Nong Khai province, opposite Vientiane, Laos' capital, to become a gateway to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Thai Prime Minister and Defence Minister Yingluck Shinawatra announced the plan at a meeting with authorities concerned in Nong Khai on Saturday morning, suggesting that Nong Khai be further developed to become the country's gateway to the region because the northeastern Thai province easily connects with Vietnam and southern China. Nong Khai Governor Wirat Limsuwat briefed the Thai prime minister of his province's four year development plan, starting from 2014, aimed at making Nong Khai become a Thai gateway to ASEAN. The governor elaborated that his province's strategic plan to achieve the goal include upgrading local infrastructure, developing the provincial social and environment, raising prices of local farm products, promoting peace along the border and developing the local service sector to meet required standards. In response to the provincial development plan, the prime minister assigned the provincial governor to carry on the plan in a clearer way each year to enable the government to allocate budget for the development in the same direction accordingly. According to the Thai premier, Nong Khai is now ranked the world's seventh best place to live and it should be, thus, further developed to even become a better place to visit for international tourists and business operators. (TNA)