NEW YORK, Sept 27 (TNA) – Emphasising that Thailand is ready to help solve the world’s food and energy problems, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has urged every country, including the superpower nations, to join hands in combating plague, poverty, terrorism and oil supply crises.

In an address to the 64th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Saturday, Mr. Abhisit said the challenges that are confronting the world--including plague, poverty, terrorism, oil crisis and the role of the UN itself--require multilateral cooperation from countries worldwide to solve the crises.

“We are living in a challenging period. And perhaps it is the period that multilateralism is once again put to the test. But we also have before us a historic opportunity to act together, to right our past wrongs and to make the right decision for the future,” Mr Abhisit said.

“How we act today is purely our choice. A choice that will be judged by our children tomorrow and our grandchildren in years to come,” he said.

The Thai prime minister said that superpower countries cannot stay idle but must assist in cooperation to solve future problems. Thailand, as a major agricultural country, is ready to help solve the food and energy problems prevailing in the world because it has experience as it is a major food exporter.

Regarding the sufficiency economy concept initiated by the Thai monarch, Mr Abhisit, who attended the UN General Assembly in his capacity as chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the concept is a key for global development which needs a balance between economic growth and sustainability.

He said the concept was not political rhetoric and its success could be seen through several royal projects and Thailand’s ability to withstand the recent global financial crisis.

On attempts to fight against global climate change, Mr. Abhisit said he believed the UN would be the main pillar for talks between countries and their cooperation and as Thailand will host a meeting on the issue from Monday in Bangkok, the country believes that development must be friendly with environment and that is the reason why it has raised the issue on alternative energy as a national agenda concern.

Thailand will host the two run-up meetings for the Copenhagen Climate Conference this week, the ninth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and the first part of the seventh session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) at the UN Conference Centre in the Thai capital from Monday to October 9.

The Thai prime minister earlier expressed hope that the climate change meetings in Bangkok will give fruitful results before the Climate Conference in Copenhagen this December.

A series of meetings relating to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is taking place throughout the year, including those in Bangkok this week, designed to culminate in an effective international response to climate change, to be agreed at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

Preparing for Copenhagen is the goal as the UNFCCC parties meet for the last time on a government level before the Kyoto Protocol to prevent climate change and global warming expires in 2012.

The UNFCCC expects this meeting to produce a Copenhagen Protocol for tackling global warming and climate change.

Mr. Abhisit is scheduled to return to Bangkok late Sunday. (TNA)

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-- TNA 27/09/09

NEW YORK, Sept 27 (TNA) – Emphasising that Thailand is ready to help solve the world's food and energy problems, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has urged every country, including the superpower nations, to join hands in combating plague, poverty, terrorism and oil supply crises.

How can a national leader say that they are ready to "...help solve the world's food and energy problems...", when they can't eliminate or diminish the ongoing graft and corruption in their own country ?

Nothing else to say.