Myanmar border checkpoints to reopen

Myanmar border checkpoints to reopen

THAILAND: Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra confirmed on Tuesday that Myanmar would reopen border checkpoints shut five months ago after a dispute with Thailand, which has badly hurt trade.

The prime minister's comments followed an announcement late Monday by Tej Bunnag, the Foreign Ministry's permanent secretary, who made a one-day trip to Myanmar to negotiate the reopening, expected Oct. 15.

Thaksin said the checkpoints - important portals for tourism and trade between the two countries - were Mae Sai in northern Chiang Rai province, Mae Sot in northwestern Tak province, and Koh Song in southern Ranong province.

The agreement was reached unconditionally, though entry regulations on both sides of the frontier would be tightened to crack down on drug trafficking and illicit goods smuggling. --AP