Asean secretary-general backs Thailand's hosting of summit

"It is the first opportunity for Thailand to show that it has stability to host a successful summit," Surin told reporters after a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.

He said that Thailand has assigned 27 Feb to 1 March as the Asean Summit dates and almost all of the 16 countries have agreed. "Thailand is waiting for a positive answer from one dialogue partner," he said, declining to name the country.

After the postponement of Asean summit last month, the host has been searching for suitable dates for all Asean and dialogue partners to take part in the summit.

Surin pointed out that this summit is an important meeting because it would be the first meeting among the Asean and dialogue partners from China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand to show what they could do facing up the challenges posed by the global financial crisis.

He also said that all Asean countries would appoint their permanent representatives to the Jakarta-based Asean Secretariat by the end of March. Singapore was the first country to appoint its Asean envoy. Lim Thuan Kuan will present his credential to Surin on Monday.

The Asean permanent representatives will collectively constitute the Committee of Permanent Representatives whose tasks include supporting the work of the ASEAN Community Councils, coordinating with ASEAN National Secretariats and other ASEAN Ministerial Bodies, as well as liaising with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat.