Thailand, Burma sign anti-drug agreement

Thailand and Burma Wednesday signed agreements on natural gas production in the Gulf of Mataban and on joint cooperation in drug suppression along their common border, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said.

Both pacts were signed at Government House on the second of a three-day official visit to Thailand by Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein.

PTT Exploration and Production Public Co., Ltd. (PTTEP), listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, earlier located a combined 71.48 million cubic feet per day field of natural gas at two zones located in the Gulf of Mataban, about 300 kilometres south of Burma's former capital of Rangoon.


PTTEP first struck natural gas at M9 Block in early 2007. The company has held a production sharing contract with the Burmese government since 2003 and has a 100 per cent interest in M9 Block.

The two countries, however, failed to agreed on a contract farming agreement as expected. The issue has yet been discussed by the Burmese cabinet, Mr Samak said.

Under the contract farming project, Thailand will use Burma to produce and supply agricultural products to Thailand while this country will transfer technological expertise to Burmese farmers to assist them in earning extra income.

Mr Samak and his Burmese counterpart also discussed cooperation in transportation networks designed to link the two countries with Laos and China upon completion.

The Thai prime minister said he would travel to China and meet President Hu Jintao on May 15 and would discuss on a plan to build a new railway line from Kunming to the Laos capital of Vientiane, and then through to the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi bordering Burma, and ending at the Tavoy seaport.

The two leaders, according to Mr Samak, also discussed problems regarding Burmese people who are staying and working illegally in Thailand.

Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has said that there are an estimated 2.2 million Burmese people in Thailand illegally of which two million are workers and the remainder have fled their homeland and are living in this country as refugees or displaced persons.

Mr Noppadon said Thailand would not push back these displaced persons to their country, but will provide assistance on a humanitarian basis.

Touching on Burmese politics, Mr Samak said Gen Thein Sein had told him that a general election would be held in Burma in about two years, as political parties will have to be established first.

Burma is scheduled to hold a national constitutional referendum on May 10.

Gen Thein Sein, who is paying his first official visit to Thailand since taking up his post in October, was granted an audience by His Majesty the King at Chitrlada Palace on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, he is due to inspect a crop substitution project in Thailand's northernmost province of Chiang Rai before leaving for home. (TNA)
(Source- http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breaking_previous.php#