Finance Minister talks about G-20 meeting in Scotland

BANGKOK, 9 November 2009 (NNT) – The Thai Minister of Finance joined the G-20 Meeting in Scotland, the United Kingdom, over the weekend as the representative from ASEAN which is currently chaired by Thailand.

Mr Korn Chatikavanij, the Minister of Finance, said this was the first time that G-20 economies – 19 industrial countries plus the European Union (EU) – invited the ASEAN grouping to join the general meeting. British PM Gordon Brown, who had a chance to talk to PM Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier this year, saw the importance of ASEAN’s involvement and decided to invite Thailand, as ASEAN Chair, to represent the group.

Although Thailand will no longer be the chair of ASEAN next year, the Canadian and Korean ministers who will be co-hosting the next G-20 meeting, have agreed to retain ASEAN’s participation privilege.

In this G-20 meeting in Scotland, every country agreed to continue their economic promotion schemes, despite a promising recovery observed, as well as the measures in support of the climate change agenda which would be brought up again in the Copenhagen Conference later this year.