Yawi language to be widely taught in Thai deep South

BANGKOK, October 14 (TNA) - The government wants to see people in the violence-plagued Thai deep South to widely learn the Yawi language in order to boost production and labour force in the southern border region, in the lead-up to the formation of the Single Community of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2015. Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office Nalinee Taveesin acknowledged today, when opening an international seminar on strengthening the Yawi language ahead of the ASEAN Community (AC) held in Pattani province, that, apart from the English language, Yawi is spoken by about 300 million of people living in the ASEAN. Expressing that the three-day seminar, set from October 13-15, is aimed to encourage more local people to learn the Yawi language for the benefit of the AC in the future, Nalinee insisted that every ASEAN member country be prepared to cooperate for the three major pillars under the AC, consisting of politics and security, economic and culture. The opening session of the seminar was attended by senior authorities in the Thai far South, ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan and academics from 40 educational institutes from the ASEAN member countries. (TNA)