Thailand to back NAM on nuclear power use
Nuclear development in Iran and ongoing internal conflict in Palestine will top the agenda of the Non-Alignment Movement's (NAM) Ministerial Meeting starting here today.
Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon, who is heading the Thai delegation to the two-day meeting, said the group planned to issue two declarations at the end of the meeting. "Countries that are members of the non-proliferation treaty have the right to peacefully use nuclear energy. But at the same time, the international community must prevent nuclear weapons from spreading," Kantathi said in outlining Thailand's position. The group will also voice its concerns on the internal conflict in Palestine, Kantathi said. "We want to see Palestine peacefully solve its internal problems as well as stick with the policies that will bring peace to the Middle East." Kantathi said Thailand's goal at the meeting was to see NAM adapting itself to the era of globalisation in order to benefit the people of its member countries. NAM was established half a century ago as a group of countries that sought neutrality during the Cold War. Currently it has 144 member countries. Thailand joined in 1993. Besides the NAM ministerial meeting, Kantathi will also attend the Special Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 and China, which will primarily focus on UN reform. Kantathi who arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday had bilateral discussions with his counterparts from Libya and Nigeria. Kantathi said he discussed investment possibilities for the Thai private sector, particularly in hotels and petroleum as well as the welfare of 4,000 Thai labourers with Libya's Secretary for Asian Affairs Mohamed Omar Alburani. He said Thailand was also considering opening an embassy in Tripoli. To his Nigerian counterpart, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Al Haji Abubakar Tanko, Kantathi extended gratitude to Lagos for helping two Thai citizens who were held hostage by militants in the Niger Delta last month. The two were released and returned home safely. The ministers discussed the situation of Nigerian prisoners in Thailand and an agreement by which the two countries cooperate in sending Nigerian prisoners home to serve the remainder of their sentences. The two sides touched on the rice trading. Nigeria was interested in learning Thai rice-growing techniques, Kantathi said. Nigeria is Thailand's largest market for rice exports, taking 1.34 million tonnes last year. Sopaporn Kurz The Nation Kuala Lumpur
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