Published on November 03, 2005
Summit leaders agree on need to protect high-risk people from avian flu virus. Human-flu vaccines should be provided to people classed as “high-risk” as a part of a series of measures to contain bird flu, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamong-khon said yesterday.
After the Acmecs (Ayeyawady – Chao Phya – Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) ministerial meeting, which involved Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand and Vietnam, Kantathi said that avian flu was a crucial issue discussed by the five ministers.
“We are at this point not in any immediate danger. We are in a period in which we need to focus on prevention and help each other as much as possible,” he said. He said that the Acmecs ministers agreed on a transparent information exchange as well as joint research in developing appropriate bird-flu vaccinations. Moreover, the ministers saw the need to provide human-flu vaccinations to high-risk people who are prone to get the virus. “I have proposed the idea of using the vaccine that prevents people from catching human flu to also help prevent them catching bird flu. This may also help stop the virus from mutating into a form that passes from human to human,” Kantathi added. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his four counterparts – Hun Sen of Cambodia, Bounnhang Vorachith of Laos, Lt-General Soe Win of Burma and Phan Van Khai of Vietnam – will today sign a Declaration on Partnership in Combating Avian Influenza and Other Infectious Diseases, he added. Besides cooperation on public health, Kantathi said that the meeting touched on other aspects including agriculture and tourism. The five ministers agreed to increase the list of commodities in the “contract farming” scheme from eight to 10, including green beans, cashew nuts and corn. These commodities, according to Kantathi, would be tax free when imported into Thailand. The ministers, however, were aware of implementation problems where the agreement of the leaders can’t be fully implemented at a local level. Kantathi said that ministers had agreed to look into the problem, as well as having products cross the border promptly. On tourism, Thailand and Cambodia will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on the single-visa issue that will allow travellers to visit both Cambodia and Thailand with one visa. This would come into effect in six months. Other Acmecs countries are expected to join the scheme later. The Acmecs leaders will sign the declaration at the summit, which ends today. After that, they will be granted an audience with His Majesty the King at Klai Kangwol Palace in Hua Hin. The first Acmecs Summit was held in 2003 in Burma’s Bagan city where leaders signed the Bagan Declaration and Plan of Action. Sopaporn Saeung The Nation
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