January 10, 2004 ☼ Foreign Affairs

Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has called his foreign service mandarins together and asked them to focus on India and China, reports Xinhua

Speaking at the “Team Thailand” meeting joined by officials from many government agencies, Thaksin called for a “revolution ofideas” which could lead to an overhaul of the structure of all Thailand’s foreign embassies, consuls and government agencies abroad.

Government spokesman Jakrapob Penkair revealed that the new plans would see a shift of focus away from certain countries, and greater engagement with others.

He was quoted as saying that in the past because some countrieshad a lot of relations with Thailand, Thai embassies or consulatesin these countries were thought to be important, but from now on, importance would be attached to the People’s Republic of China andthe Republic of India.XinhuaNet(http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-01/10/content_1269214.htm “China, India to be focuses of Thailand’s diplomacy: PM”)Thailand and Singapore are well placed to form the bedrock of India’s relationship with East Asia.

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