Yingluck Shinawatra's first overseas visit as prime minister, to Brunei on Saturday, has no hidden agenda and is taking place because the sultanate was the first country to say it was ready to receive a visit, government officials said yesterday.
The mission by the country's first female prime minister is also not intended to produce anything significant for the foreign affairs of the Kingdom, they said.
Yingluck will spend only a few hours on Saturday in Bandar Seri Begawan to have dinner with the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and to introduce herself as the new PM. She will return home the same day.
It was the prime minister's intention to make the visit as short as possible so that she could just introduce herself, and not to tackle any matters of import, the officials said.
New Thai prime ministers traditionally, however, pay their first visit to Laos, which shares many similarities with Thailand in terms of language and culture.
An official at Government House said Yingluck had chosen Brunei for her first overseas mission simply because it was the first country to reply that it was ready to host such a visit. "We contacted many countries in Asean about the prime minister making her first visit, but only Brunei replied quickly to confirm that its leaders were free to welcome Prime Minister Yingluck after the fasting month of Ramadan," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
However, the Foreign Ministry has prepared some points for Yingluck to raise in her meeting with Brunei leaders concerning closer diplomatic relations between the countries.
Apart from a general discussion, these include cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education, energy and the halal food industry, according to an official at the ministry.
The most important message to be imparted during the short visit is to express gratitude to Brunei for supporting Thailand in international forums, notably in international Islamic organisations, the official said. The leaders will also discuss cooperation within Asean frameworks, the official added.
Diplomatic relations between Thailand and Brunei have been normal for a long time, with the countries' leaders always on good terms.
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is Yingluck's brother, occasionally visits Brunei and stayed in the country for a while after fleeing Thailand after the 2006 military coup that ousted him.
Thaksin now mostly lives in Dubai, but visits Brunei from time to time to meet his political supporters. He recently met ex-PM Banharn Silapa-archa, who is de facto leader of the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party, there to discuss the portfolio quota in Yingluck's first Cabinet.
After Brunei, Yingluck will visit Indonesia on Monday, also to introduce herself as the new prime minister.
It seems she will not discuss the role of Indonesia in facilitating peace efforts between Thailand and Cambodia, said an official at the Foreign Ministry.
Jakarta planned to dispatch an observer team to assess the situation and monitor troop withdrawals from the disputed area adjacent to the Preah Vihear Temple, but details of the plan have not yet been discussed.
Yingluck will then visit Cambodia on September 15 on an introductory mission and seek to fix damaged relations following the festering border conflict over Preah Vihear in recent years. She then plans to visit Laos, a Government House official said.
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