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Britain's Ambassador to Thailand, Quinton Quayle, has been quite busy recently preparing for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's upcoming visits to London.

The first official visit this weekend will see Abhisit helping boost bilateral relations with the United Kingdom.

During the second visit, Abhisit, in his capacity as current chairman of Asean, will be representing the 10 Southeast Asian nations at the April 2 London Summit to be hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Quayle, who is fluent in French, Thai and Romanian, said Abhisit, whom he finds "intelligent" and "articulate", impressed him.

During this weekend's visit, Abhisit will be meeting Brown at 10 Downing Street to discuss bilateral issues and briefing the British leader on the outcome of the recent Asean Summit in Thailand.

Abhisit and Brown will also consider preparations for the London Summit, which will be attended by leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20), including US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leaders of Japan and China.

Apart from heads of the world's 20 top economies, the president of Ethiopia will also attend the summit in his capacity as chairman of Nepad, which groups African nations.

Other participants will include Spain, the Netherlands and the European Commission, as well as leaders of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the UN secretary-general.

Quayle, 54, says the London summit will be the first major gathering of world leaders held to tackle the global economic crisis. The previous G-20 meeting took place just before Obama took office in January.

The London Summit is being held to field ideas from various participants as leaders look for ways to tackle the current global crisis and restore stability, stimulate economic growth and create jobs, the envoy explained.

As chairman of Asean, Abhisit is also expected to hold consultations with other Asean leaders and come up with proposals for the London Summit.

Quayle, in fact, is no stranger to Thailand given that he was first stationed in Bangkok back in 1980-1983 as second secretary.

"I was here when Pa Prem [General Prem Tinnasulanonda] was prime minister," he says in fluent Thai.

The envoy, who was named ambassador to Bangkok in August 2007, is also an avid reader of Thai newspapers and magazines.

"I love the language, the people and food here, especially, khao niew ma-muang [sticky rice and mango]. Thais are gentle and welcoming," he smiles.

Abhisit, he says, has made a good start given that Thailand was previously caught up in political troubles.

The situation appears to have settled down, he says, but it's becoming more difficult to manage the economy due to rising unemployment as well as slumping export and tourism revenues, all consequences of the worsening global economy.

According to Quayle, the London Summit will help find ways to stimulate the world economy in a more coordinated manner so that the severity and length of the global recession affecting businesses and families around the world can be lessened.

Another aim is to kick-start lending so that businesses can borrow again and have resources to invest.

In addition, leaders at the summit will renounce protectionism since that will only worsen problems, while international regulations, especially those on complex financial transactions, need to be reformed, he said, and there will be a proposal to create an international early-warning system along with a strengthening of the role of the IMF.

Last but not least, he says, there should be coordinated international efforts to put the world economy on a more sustainable path as far as the environment and society are concerned.