via CAAI
BANGKOK, Oct 18 - Cambodian Information Minister Khieu Kanharith on Monday paid a courtesy call on Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, while the issue of alleged Red Shirt arms training in Cambodian soil was not raised in the discussion.
The Cambodian minister, leading a group of Cambodian reporters, is on an official visit to its neighbouring kingdom as invited by Thai Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office Ongart Klampaiboon who visited Phnom Penh last month.
The invitation is part of information and cultural exchange programmes between reporters of the two kingdoms, aimed at bringing better understanding among each other and boosting bilateral relations.
Mr Ongart said after Mr Khieu Kanharith met the Thai premier that both countries have a better understanding of each other, saying recent diplomatic spats were caused by misunderstanding and mis-communication.
The Thai minister added the alleged Red Shirt arms training in Cambodia however was not raised during the meeting as the issue had earlier been clarified.
Thailand's Department of Special Investigation (DSI) earlier cited the confession of 11 armed men arrested in Chiang Mai claiming that arms training for 39 Red Shirt hardliners had taken place in a Cambodian army camp.
The Cambodian government however strongly rejected the allegations, saying Cambodia would neither allow foreigners to set up training camps nor military bases on Cambodian territory.
Mr Ongart said both countries reaffirmed that if urgent information was needed, they will make direct phone calls to each other. If the issue is not urgent, however, information will be sought via normal diplomatic channels.
The Cambodian information minister also conveyed Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's best regards to Mr Abhisit prior to both leaders' meeting at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit scheduled for later this month in Vietnam, according to the Thai minister. (MCOT online news)
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