BANGKOK, Dec 17 Kyodo Thai Prime ...

BANGKOK, Dec 17 Kyodo

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday that he and cabinet ministers will come up to face to face with their Malaysian counterparts Sunday in the southern Thai town of Hat Yai to further closer ties between the couple countries.

The Thai premier also said Thailand will confine similar cabinet-to-cabinet meetings with Singapore in mid-January and with Laos, Cambodia and Bangladesh in the near future

Thaksin said the meetings will likely focus onward economic issues.

Thai officials said the Thai-Malaysia talks will likely hide bilateral issues relating to tourism, fisheries and an expansion of border checkpoints.

The talks in Hat Yai, Songkhla Province, a 950 kilometers south of Bangkok, will be joined from Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo recently made knowns International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group