Malaysian leader to visit Thailand

Malaysian leader to visit Thailand

MALAYSIA: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will be
making an official visit to Thailand on Jan. 16 as part of a
regional familiarization trip and to boost bilateral ties, the
government announced on Thursday.

Abdullah, who took over from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad
on Oct. 31, will hold talks with his counterpart Thaksin
Shinawatra, the foreign ministry said in a statement to the
Bernama news agency.

He is also due to have an audience with the King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, it said.

The trip will provide Abdullah with the opportunity to discuss
bilateral issues of mutual concern with Thaksin, the ministry
said.

Abdullah's visit to Thailand is part of a tour of Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries for newly installed
regional leaders.

The premier has already visited Singapore, Brunei and
Indonesia. -- DPA

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Aglance-Thailand-BirdFlu
Eat more shrimp, urges Thaksin
JP/11/ASEAN

Eat more shrimp, urges Thaksin

THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra urged his
countrymen on Thursday to eat more shrimp to make up for a severe
shortage of chickens brought on by diseases at poultry farms.

"This will have a double benefit," Thaksin told reporters at
Government House, easing the chicken shortage while benefiting
shrimp farmers who have been hit by a major supply glut.

Thaksin reiterated his government's insistence that the
epidemics that have wiped out hundreds of thousands of chickens
in Thailand were not related to the bird flu outbreak that has
hit several other Asian nations.

He backed up claims by the Agriculture Ministry that the
disease hitting the Thai poultry farms was a seasonal type of
chicken cholera and windpipe infection that poses no danger to
peoples' health.

Thaksin blamed unnamed political opponents for building up the
scare over bird flu, which does pose a threat to humans. -- DPA