Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is scheduled to lead a Thai delegation to attend the 37th Session of the Council of Foreign Minister of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (CFM 37) in Dushanbe, the Republic of Tajikistan between 18 — 20 May 2010.
During the meeting, the Thai Foreign Minister will meet with Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the OIC, to discuss future Thailand- OIC cooperation. He will also meet with ministers of foreign affairs of the OIC member states such as Bahrain, Qatar, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Syria. Their discussions will focus on the latest developments in the Southern Border Provinces, the progress made by the Government in addressing the situation as well as the efforts and measures taken for the betterment of the Thai Muslim community.
Furthermore, the Foreign Minister will meet with high ranking officials of the government of Tajikistan to discuss further ways to expand cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, including Tajikistan’ s plan to operate direct flight to Bangkok by its national carrier, Somon Air.
Upon the completion of the CFM37, Foreign Minister Kasit is scheduled to visit the Russian Federation on 20 — 22 May 2010.
OIC is the largest international organization of Islamic countries that groups 57 member states. Thailand became an Observer State of the OIC on 1 October 1998 to foster closer cooperation with the Organization, member states, and the Muslim world as a whole. Being among the 4 countries that have been granted Observer Status (Russian Federation, Central African Republic, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the other three countries), Thailand has continuously participated in various OIC activities, including meetings of heads of state (Islamic Summit) and foreign ministers.
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