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