Surin off to flyer in race to be next Asean chief
The three-month search for the next Asean chief has been completed, with former Thai foreign minister Surin Pitsuwan emerging as the favourite.
The six-member selection committee interviewed Surin and veteran Thai diplomat Manaspas Xuto at the Foreign Ministry yesterday. The other candidate, former Thai permanent representative to the United Nations Khunying Luxanachandhorn Laohaphan, was interviewed earlier. According to an informed source, Surin scored the highest marks by a wide margin, followed by Luxanachandhorn and Manaspas. The committee will soon submit the name of the most suitable candidate to Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram, who will inform the Cabinet. It is the Kingdom's turn to provide the grouping's next secretary-general, and the government will propose its choice to the Asean foreign ministers at their meeting next month in Manila. Formal endorsement will be given at the Asean summit in Singapore from Nov 19-21. When the Foreign Ministry announced publicly it was seeking a suitable candidate for this prestigious position, 12 former diplomats and bureaucrats applied. Last month, three names where shortlisted. All the shortlisted candidates were asked to present their views and visions of Asean and its future. Surin expressed a vision concerning the potential of Asean in the world today and said opportunities were endless, according to the source. The successful candidate will serve for a five-year term and speak on behalf of the 10-member grouping at its headquarters in Jakarta. Asean has a staff of 57 from all member countries, together with more than 200 local officers. This year Asean has a budget of US$9.5 million (Bt328 million), which comes from membership fees.
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