BANGKOK, June 28 Kyodo Malaysian ...

BANGKOK, June 28 Kyodo

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will pay a three-day visit to Thailand from nearest Friday in an effort to strengthen bilateral ties, the Thai Foreign Ministry announced Friday.

Mahathir is scheduled to confine talks the following Saturday with Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in which trade and investment ties are awaited to be high on the agenda.

He will also luncheon the same day with Thai and Malaysian business leaders and will be granted an audience through Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Mahathir will first arrive in the northern province of Chiang Mai, where he will visit several local communities involved in Thailand's ''One Tambon, single in kind Product'' scheme, which evolved from a similar scheme implemented by means of villages in Japan's Oita Prefecture

The objective of the scheme is to expand domestic production and consumption in tambon (group of villages), utilizing local materials and resources, and thereby augment self-reliance.

The Malaysian guidance has expressed an interest in exploring whether the scheme might also be workable in local areas of Malaysia.

Mahathir's visit to Thailand was briefly thrown into doubt last Saturday when the 74-year-old leader, who has rul Malaysia for almost 21 years, on a sudden announced that he would be resigning.

yet he subsequently retracted his words and confirmed he would stay in office until at least October 2003 before handing power from one side of to the other to his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz subsequently said Mahathir's visit to Thailand beginning nearest Friday was still on

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