BANGKOK, May 8: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz arrived here Sunday afternoon on a three-day official visit of Thailand for bilateral discussions with his counterpart Thaksin Shinawatra and have an audience with the Thai King and Queen at Klai Kangwol Palace. On arrival at the air terminal headquarters of the Royal Thai Air Force by a special aircraft the prime minister was accorded a 19-gun salute and was received by Thai deputy Prime Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai. A long reception line included diplomats, cabinet members and representatives Thai of armed forces.
The prime minister and his wife Rukhsana Aziz had a private lunch with the Thai deputy prime minister at the Oriental Hotel, where Mr Aziz and members of his entourage were staying. It was followed by an interview with English daily Bangkok Post.
VISIT TO OTOP: The prime minister and members of his delegation went to the office of One Tambon (town) One Project (OTOP), a one-stop business centre for exports to stimulate grassroots.
The prime minister met the top project executives and was given a presentation of the project launched in 2001.
The OTOP is a Thai government’s initiative to identify and promote unique products made by village communities as a mean to expand country’s domestic and international trade as well as generate more incomes for the villagers.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Aziz said he had heard about the project and was fascinated by it. “Clearly this is a national movement to get value creation,” he said, adding: “This is an excellent way of fighting poverty.” He told OTOP executives that his government had already done a brainstorming session to emulate the project.
The prime minister conceded while there was tremendous scope for Pakistani products it suffered from lack of good packaging and marketing skills. For it, he said, Pakistan would invite OTOP representatives to train people.
DINNER WITH THAI PM: In the evening Mr Aziz and his wife had a private dinner with their host Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the State Tower Sirocco restaurant.
Mr Aziz would attend a formal welcoming ceremony at the Government House where he would be received by the Thai prime minister. Afterwards the two leaders would hold a one-on-one meeting to be followed by delegation-level talks. A key talking point would be Pakistan’s bid for attaining full dialogue partnership status with Asean.
The prime minister would seek support from Thailand, which was an influential member of the regional grouping. One MoU on a four-year cultural exchange programme would be signed on Monday, it is learnt.