|
 In Focus |
On 4 January 2005, the press conference was jointly given by Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Foreign Minister of Thailand, Mr.Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, and Mr.Jeb Bush, US Governor of the State of Florida.
|
On 4 January 2005, the press conference was jointly given by Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai, Foreign Minister of Thailand, Mr.Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, and Mr.Jeb Bush, US Governor of the State of Florida. The gist of the press conference is the following:
Dr.Surakiart, Foreign Minister of Thailand, expressed his sincere thank to Mr. Colin Powell, the Secretary of State, and Mr.Bush, the Governor of Florida, who had traveled out to the region, to assess the devastating effects of the earthquake of Tsunami last week. He conveyed, on behalf of the Government of Thailand and the people of Thailand, to the Secretary of State, especially the Government and people of the United States, the appreciation of the Thai side for the condolences and assistance provided by the US to Thailand since the outbreak of the devastating Tsunami.
Dr.Surakiart said that Thai people appreciated the expression of sympathy, especially from the President Bush and from the First Lady, who visited the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. to sign a book of condolences on the passing away of Khun Poom Jensen.
Dr. Surakiart said that the Secretary of State called him right after the incident and offered cooperation and that the US humanitarian assistance started on Sunday, providing transport planes, medical doctors, experts and rescue teams.
He also said that he would like to take note of the prompt and effective cooperation the US provided to Thailand and that Thailand was pleased to work with the US to set up a regional center for relief efforts for other countries affected by the Tsunami. Dr.Surakiart stressed that Prime Minister, Dr.Thaksin Shinawatra, gave a green light for Thailand to work along with the US to assist other affected countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Dr.Surakiart noted that both sides had a very good discussion. Both sides went through the overview of the current situation, with regard to the relief efforts and were pleased to see that the cooperation between Thailand and the US was proceeding well.
He mentioned that he proposed to Mr. Powell, the Secretary of State, and Mr.Bush, Governor of Florida, that Thailand is prepared to set up the early warning and monitoring systems of its own as the Prime Minister reiterated his policy that Thailand was willing to invest in this itself. He added that Thailand would like to obtain technical assistance from the United State and, at the same time, would be ready to work with other countries with technology to put in place a regional early warning or monitoring system in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.
At this stage, Thailand is now considering whether it can expand the scope of the cooperation to enable the countries in the region to better cope with disaster arising out of the earthquake or Tsunami, with assistance from the US.
Dr.Surakiart said that both sides discussed the possibility of expanding the technical assistance from the US to cover other areas, including rehabilitation of natural resources, for example, coral reef, marine life and configuration of beaches.
Dr.Surakiart noted that both the US Secretary of State and himself would be attending the Tsunami Summit in Jakarta and would like to make sure that the meeting would achieve success in fulfilling its objectives of the facilitation of relief efforts and setting up of early warning and monitoring systems in the region.
He said that the Governor Bush offered to send US experts to work with Thailand on the early warning system, especially as to how to bring confidence back to the Thai and foreign tourists in the affected areas. He also noted that Florida had experience in dealing with natural disaster.
He also expressed appreciation to the Director of USAID and several other people responsible for disaster relief from the United States and added that after this, the American delegation would go to Phuket to see the situation first hand and get briefed by Thai authorities working in the field in Phuket.
***********************************************************
Mr.Powell thanked the Thai Government and the Foreign Minister and said that members of his delegation were very pleased to render support to the Thai Government and Thai people. He said that he sent condolences to let Thai people know that American people were in solidarity with the Thai to deal with this crisis. And he said that he wished to send his regards to the families of those, who lost the loved ones as a result of the Tsunami. He also expressed sympathy to the Royal Family over the death of His Majesty the King?s Grandson, Khun Poom. He also expressed thanks for the assistance that the Thai Government gave to the American victims affected by the Tsunami disaster.
He noted that the aftermath of Tsunami is a tragedy for the entire world and that the US will certainly not turn away from those in desperate need and he think American people had demonstrated in recent days their willingness to provide support, not only financial support but also logical support. He said that Pacific commands were providing C130 aircrafts , rescue planes and helicopters from American ships.
Mr.Powell expressed appreciation to the Government of Thailand for allowing the US Government to use the airbase at Utapao as a central hub for supporting Thai friends and other nations in the region, which would play an
important role in the days or weeks ahead.
He said that he and the Governor Bush had an excellent meeting with the Prime Minister and with the Foreign Minister of Thailand.
The discussion will enable the US to determine how it can best support Thailand to address this disaster. Both sides are working closely and examine some other areas in which both sides could further cooperate, such as setting up an early warning system and sharing environmental expertise.
Mr.Powell noted that American expertise might be of assistance to the Thai Government and other Governments in the region to make sure that environmental damage that had been caused can be restored or at least mitigated.
He stressed that it should be noted that all private contributions were now being raised in the United States to help and that the former President Bush and the former President Clinton would be leading these efforts which were a further indication of the US solidarity towards our Thai friends and to other friends in the region, who are in need.
**************************************************
The Governor of Florida said that he would like to join Secretary Powell in offering deepest condolences from the President Bush and the first lady of the United States to the Thai people, especially to the Thai Royal Family, who suffered so greatly from the tsunami disaster. He said that his home state had suffered from the hurricane a few months ago, thus sharing this tragic experience with Thai people. He was aware that the disaster would take huge financial and human toll on the people of Thailand and of the region and American people wanted to offer a helping hand.
Mr.Bush noted that in addition to financial support through humanitarian assistance and through the US government, he could assure Thai people that hundreds of thousands of American citizens of all walks of life had been moved by that tragedy and were providing supports, as can be seen by the announcement yesterday of the decision by the President to enlist the support of two former Presidents to spearhead the private sector's contribution to the relief efforts. To illustrate his point, he said that he received an e-mail this evening when he woke up, saying that his friend?s daughter had baked cookies and raised hundreds of dollars yesterday in support of this cause.
He added that American people and the Government of the United States would be with Thai people shoulder -to- shoulder to provide support.
?????????????????????.
|
|
Also refer to Photo Gallery
|
|
|
|
Site map 
Contact Us
About Thailand
About Thailand
General Information
ACD
