Ban Ki-Moon To Visit Thailand Next Week

By Jamaluddin Muhammad BANGKOK, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Thailand for two days starting Wednesday amid the worst flood in the country in five decades. Ban is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at the Government House where the Prime Minister's office is located, here, on Wednesday. Among the issues to be discussed are the cooperation between the UN agencies and Thai authorities in assisting flood-affected areas, according to a statement from the Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs today. Matters pertaining to the strengthening of Bangkok as a regional hub of the UN and other international organisations as well as the constructive role of Thailand in the region will be highlighted during the discussion. The UN chief will also visit several flood-hit areas to learn first-hand how the flood crisis in Thailand is extensively affecting the lives and properties of the Thai people. He is scheduled to leave Bangkok on Thursday for Bali, Indonesia to attend the 4th Asean-UN Summit. United States' Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also scheduled to visit Thailand on Nov 16-17 with the aim of further strengthening the strong relations and alliance between the two countries and to support Thailand's efforts in resolving the current flood situation. Bilateral issues, the floods and cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, both in the short and long terms, are expected to be discussed when Clinton meet Yingluck and her Thai counterpart Dr Surapong Tovichakchaikul during the visit. Clinton will leave here for Bali to attend the East Asia Summit and the US-Asean Leaders Meeting between Nov 17 and 19. About one-third of the country remains inundated, affecting more than a million people from 24 provinces in the northern and central regions, in the floods that hit the country in stages since July 25. The death toll has reached 533. -- BERNAMA