Friday, 25 July 2008

Deputy PM to be dispatched to Cambodia on Monday

Fri, July 25, 2008
By The Nation

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will dispatch one of his deputies to Cambodia on Monday to negotiate over the border dispute, Deputy Government Spokesman Natthawut Saikua said Friday.

Natthawut said the new foreign minister could not be appointed in time so a deputy prime minister would be assigned to carry out the task.

He said the ministerial level meeting on Monday would be the first bilateral meeting over the border dispute and the new foreign minister would be appointed in time for the next meeting.

The spokesman said it would not a breach in diplomatic protocol to send a deputy prime minster to conduct the talk because the Cambodian government itself would become a caretaker government when a general election is held in Cambodia on Sunday.

The dispute over an area of 4.6 square kilometers near Preah Vihear ancient temple heated up following Cambodia's success of listing the temple as a world heritage site.

Both countries claim ownership of the tract and deployed soldiers to confront each other near the disputed borderline.

The Nation

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