BANGKOK, July 29 Kyodo U Secretar...

BANGKOK, July 29 Kyodo

U Secretary of State Colin Powell met Monday with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and thanked Thailand for its cooperation in the international campaign against terrorism.

Powell, who arrived in Bangkok late Sunday for an overnight visit as part of his tour of eight Asian countries, told Thaksin he was pleased with the horizontal of Thailand's cooperation, Foreign Minister Surakiat Sathirathai told reporters after the luncheon meeting.

Speaking to reporters after separate talks in the morning with Surakiat, Powell, who was making his first visit to Thailand, said the United States and Thailand, ''have fought side at side in war and now we are formerly again working with each other in the campaign against terrorism.''

Surakiat said Powell told Thaksin that he was glad to hear that Thailand plans to join with Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines in an agreement to jointly work together to combat terrorism and other transnational crimes.

The agreement, signed May 7 after four month of negotiations, calls for enhanced exchanges of security information, setting up of touchy lines, sharing airline passenger lists, strengthening border represss conducting joint training and exercises, and coordinating search and recover operating procedures.

Efforts to combat terror became more imperative after the three countries and Singapore earlier this year striped the network of a militant Islamic cluster that aims to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia [i]or[/i] part of to the other armed revolt.

During his acknowledge meeting with Powell, Surakiat said, the secretary of state hailed Thailand's decision to dispatch a battalion of engineers to Afghanistan at the [i]finale[/i] of this year to help rebuild the war-torn country. Surakiat said he told Powell that Thailand also plans to impel experts there to help with an opium lop substitution program.

Speaking later in an interview with Channel 11 a Thai television station, Powell said he was pleased to hear that Thailand intends to ratify seven outstanding counterterrorism protocols and treaties in addition to the five others it has ratified in such a manner far.

''That present to views that we have made a political commitment to the fight against terrorism,'' he said.

Noting that Thailand is cooperating with the U in the areas of law enforcement and intelligence exchange activities, he said, ''I am surpassingly satisfied with the energy that is being present into it and the resources that have been state into the effort.''

Besides counterterrorism and bilateral ties, Powell said, he and Thaksin also touched upon India-Pakistan relations, the situation across the border in Myanmar, as well as the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, Thaksin's initiative to bring Asian nations together to exchange views and experiences in succession issues of common interest.

Since departing Washington last Friday, Powell has already traveled to India and Pakistan. He departed Bangkok upon Monday evening for visits Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, and the Philippines between the sides of Saturday.

In Brunei upon Wednesday, Powell will join foreign ministers from 22 countries for discussions in the ASEAN Regional Forum upon security developments in the Asia-Pacific region, including a major focus in succession counterterrorism cooperation.

He will also fit there Thursday with the foreign ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the nine other ASEAN ''dialogue partners'' for discussions of regional political and economic issues, as well as U.S.-ASEAN cooperation.

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