BANGKOK, 11 October 2011 – China and the United States have indicated their readiness to assist the Thai government in relieving repercussions from floods.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the People’s Republic of China has already donated assistance in the form of cash and necessary items for flood victims worth altogether 80 million THB. The United States has extended monetary assistance to the Thai Red Cross Society and is sending its personnel to work with Thai officials from the Flood Relief Operation Center in visiting flood victims.
US Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney yesterday visited the Flood Relief Operation Center at Don Mueang Airport where she met Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Sukumpol Suwanatat. The envoy conveyed US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s sympathy for flood victims, saying the US was willing to provide long-term assistance particularly in the field of weather forecasting technologies to Thailand.
Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Thani Thongphakdi said the US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt M Campbell, during a meeting with Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul yesterday, affirmed that the United States would provide more assistance for flood victims. He also expressed the US determination to upgrade the Thai-US relations. Both also discussed a possibility for Prime Minister Yingluck to meet with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the East Asian summit in Bali, Indonesia.
Mrs Clinton is also scheduled to visit Thailand after her participation in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 2011 meeting in November.
