On 3 August 2009, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, gave opening remarks on “Foreign Policy for the Benefit of the People” during a seminar for Muslim radio hosts and media, organized by the Foreign Ministry at Vithes Samosorn. The forum was attended by 200 Muslim radio hosts and media as well as representatives of Islamic committees from all over the country.
In his remarks, Foreign Minister Kasit spoke on freedom of speech of the media in a democracy and said that media are tasked with two important missions, namely providing accurate facts to the public and checking inaccurate information. He expressed the government’s full support for the media to play these roles and convey to the Muslim community the importance of Arab-language proficiency before students pursue further education abroad. The Foreign Minister added that with this skill, plenty of job opportunities await, as skilled labour remains in high demand in the Middle Eastern market. Later, the Foreign Minister took the media’s questions ranging from Thailand’s role in the OIC, promotion of the country’s halal industry to organizing Haj activities in Saudi Arabia.
The two-day forum was intended for the Ministry and Muslim radio hosts and media from Bangkok and other provinces to network with one another and exchange views on foreign policy. Its objective was to foster understanding on the part of Thai Muslims of government policy in promoting peace in society and the Foreign Ministry’s efforts to help resolve the problems in the southern border provinces peacefully, foster relations with Muslim countries, and create interfaith dialogue through media channels.
Topics during the forum included “Thailand’s relations with the Muslim World”, “Guidelines of National Reconciliation” and “Role of Muslim media in Thailand.” In the evening, Foreign Minister Kasit hosted a dinner for the participants of the forum.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th