Foreign Affairs Minister to jointly chair 1st ASEAN-GCC summit

BANGKOK, 27 June 2009 (NNT) – The Minister of Foreign Affairs will attend the first ever ministerial level meeting of the ASEAN and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Kingdom of Bahrain this 30 June.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Kasit Piromya, will join his Bahrainian counterpart Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, in the city of Manama where they will chair the first ASEAN-GCC ministerial summit. The meeting has been considered an important first step for the GCC and ASEAN. The gathering is aimed at forging partnerships between the two organizations on a variety of projects in an array of fields.

During the event, Thailand and Bahrain will jointly organize cultural performances and showcases. Thailand hopes to promote its strong Halal industry to the GCC.

The ASEAN-GCC summit will run from 30 June to 1 July at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa in Manama.