Financial assistance and grants would be made available to a growing number of students to undertake graduate studies in some of the world's top universities, Charivat said. Thai students already studying abroad or at home would not be excluded from the process, he said.

While language is important, the ministry is also interested in recruiting people who understand the mindset and political culture of such countries.

He said there were hundreds of students graduating from Russian universities each year but most were in scientific fields, not social science, which would be more applicable to the ministry's needs.

"It's great to get people who don't just understand Russia but also understand how Russians see themselves - whether they are part of Europe or Asia," Charivat said.

Such people could also be sent to Central Asian countries where Russian languages were spoken, he said.

Charivat said countries where people speak Arabic would be increasingly important. However, most Thais attending universities in the Middle East tended to concentrate on Islamic studies, rather then secular subjects.

New officials with expertise in Arabic but not much else in terms of political science would be sent to Western countries, like the US, to become well-rounded, he said.

Thai Muslims often complain about the poor education system and failure to produce high-school graduates competent to compete internationally in fields other then Islamic theology.

Charivat said the demand for Chinese specialists had dropped because of the large number of students graduating from Chinese schools. But Chinese "generalists" would continue to be in demand.