PM launches tree planting project in honour of Thai Queen

BANGKOK, August 9 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Wednesday kicked start a government-sponsored loyal initiative on planting 800 million trees nationwide over the next five years in honour of and as part of grand celebrations nationwide on the auspicious occasion of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday on August 12, 2012. Yingluck inaugurated the loyal project by planting 16,000 teak saplings on a plot of 80-rai land in Mae Tang district of Thailand's northern resort Chiang Mai province, her hometown. The event drew together participants from public and private sectors. The Thai premier then opened an international conference on the improvement of quality of life and the promotion of local wisdoms of people in member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and non-ASEAN countries held at the Royal Park Rajapruek in Chiang Mai. The Thai prime minister told reporters that the conference should be a good start for ASEAN and non-ASEAN citizens to communicate and share information on the relevant issues to strengthen regional values for sustainable development in the long run. (TNA)