By Rachel Thien
Thailand Ambassador-Designate to Brunei Darussalam Apichart Phetcharatana yesterday told The Brunei Times that Tovichakchaikul was scheduled to make the two-day visit to Brunei, but he was still waiting for confirmation from Brunei's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Tovichakchaikul unveiled plans for his first overseas visits to nine other countries within the Asean bloc, and decided to arrange the tour schedule in alphabetical order, AFP reported.
The foreign minister was quoted as saying, "I will start with Brunei as it is first alphabetically, but Indonesia will come second because it's currently chairman of Asean."
His next destination will be Cambodia, on September 14, and then Laos.
He said he would visit all other Asean nations, including Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam this month, without giving the exact dates for each country's visit, the report added.
"We have requested for our Foreign Minister to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah as HRH is his counterpart, as well as an audience with His Majesty," the ambassador-designate said.
If the visit is confirmed, Phetcharatana said, it would serve as a platform for the two sides to discuss bilateral issues of mutual concern in the context of Asean affairs, as well as the exchange of high-level visits between Brunei and Thailand.
Asked when newly-elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will be visiting Brunei, he said the Prime Minister's Office in Thailand is still looking at her schedule for the year, but noted she will be looking forward to coming to Brunei.
Last year Brunei hosted a one-day official visit by Thailand's former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva where the premier formally introduced himself to the monarch and country to strengthen bilateral ties and push Asean member countries closer through connectivity.
In an interview with The Brunei Times during the visit, Thailand's former Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya said that visiting Brunei was a "special case and a must".
In 2008, former Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was in Brunei for a two-day visit, where he met with His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in an audience, and attended an official dinner hosted by the monarch.
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