Thailand is to ask four neighbouring countries to issue a political statement reaffirming cooperation in a bird flu joint surveillance system at the forthcoming summit of Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (Acmecs) next month. The Acmecs working group on public health is to meet tomorrow for the first time to discuss concrete steps and prepare recommendations for leaders of member countries, who will meet at a second summit in Bangkok on Nov 3, Foreign Ministry sources said.
Leaders of Acmecs member countries _ Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam _ are expected to issue a declaration on public health, with particular emphasis on the establishment of a surveillance system and contact points in each member country to alert other members of developments in the bird flu pandemic, the sources said.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, health officials are to discuss cooperation on HIV/Aids in a bid to encourage information sharing to curb the cross-border spread of the disease, which can be transmitted by lorry drivers, fishermen and sex workers, among others.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen were also expected to announce a single visa valid for both countries _ similar to Europe's Schengen Agreement _ to become available within six months, to smooth the visa application procedure.
Other Acmecs projects to be discussed include transportation links and agricultural joint ventures with development partners such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, France and Singapore. The Asian Development Bank and the Thai private sector would play a supporting role in the projects, the sources said.
This is cache, read story here