Gulf states may attend ASEAN talks

Gulf states may attend ASEAN talks

BANGKOK (AP): Thailand will invite Gulf states to attend a Southeast Asian foreign ministers' meeting to promote business and trade, Thailand's foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Thailand is the current chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and will host the July meeting in Bangkok. Invited as observers will be Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, said spokesman Don Pramudwinai.

The countries are all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The initiative comes as Thailand strives to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, soured for the past decade by the killings of Saudi diplomats and a scandal over gems stolen from a Saudi prince by a Thai worker in 1989.