ASEAN to endorse Thai FM as UN head

ASEAN to endorse Thai FM as UN head

LAOS: The 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) bloc will formally endorse Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai next week for the post of United Nations secretary-general.

The decision to support Surakiart to succeed Kofi Annan in 2006 is included in a draft copy of a statement, obtained on Thursday, that ASEAN leaders are expected to adopt on Monday at the end of a two-day summit here.

ASEAN includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Senior officials of the forum met on Thursday in the Laotian capital Vientiane to finalize the summit's closing statement and various resolutions.

If he is selected for the post, Surakiart would be the first Asian head of the world body for more than 30 years. The last Asian to head the United Nations was U Thant, from Myanmar, who was secretary-general from 1961 to 1971.

Annan, who has headed the United Nations since 1996, has said he would not seek a third five-year term after 2006. -- AFP