SURIN, July 30 — Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday chairs a Cabinet meeting in the northeastern province of Surin to consider the development projects for the lower northeastern region.
Ms Yingluck said earlier that at the sixth onsite Cabinet meeting in Surin, the panel would consider projects covering eight provinces — Surin, Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket, Ubon Ratchathani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Chiayaphum, Amnat Charoen, and Yasothon.
Before the meeting, Ms Yingluck led the Cabinet and the public to offer food to monks on elephant back to receive food from the Buddhist faithful.
Apart from Hom Mali–Thai jasmine rice, Surin is renowned as a land of elephants and is famous for training them both for work and for entertaining visitors at the annual ‘round-up’.
The problem of the future of Surin’s elephants is on the Cabinet agenda as the consider solutions on the mahouts’ difficulties and elephants roaming city streets for money.
Ms Yingluck is scheduled to travel to the Surin Elephant Study Centre in Tha Tum district in the afternoon to observe the care of pachyderms and listen to related problems. She will also see an elephant show.
On Sunday, the premier chaired a meeting of the Regional Joint Public/Private Sector Consultative Committee with governors of eight provinces in the lower northeastern region.
The Surin private sector has proposed several development projects for Cabinet consideration, including logistics development to facilitate goods transportation to neighbouring countries.
Ms Yingluck launched a farmers’ credit card project and distributed credit cards to farmers–one of the major campaign promises that her Pheu Thai Party made to win the election last July.
The credit card can be used to buy agricultural factors such as fertiliser, seed or pesticides from stores registered with the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives.
