Thaksin's two-fold mission to Laos

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Thaksin's two-fold mission to Laos

 The Nation
 

VIENTIANE: -- Former premier Thaksin Shinawatra visited Laos with two purposes: to ward off bad luck and to discuss business as the brother of the prime minister of Thailand.
 
His activities yesterday started with merit-making according to Laos' New Year tradition. The ceremony was held at That Luang Temple, deemed the royal temple of King Jaya Setthathirath of the Lan Xang Kingdom. This highly revered king promoted good relations with the Lanna Kingdom in what is now Chiang Mai.
 
Thaksin also took part in a ritual to dispel bad luck at Sri Muang Temple, another temple built by King Jaya Setthathirath.
 
Nevertheless, the bigger issue was his mission as the brother of the prime minister of Thailand.
 
In January, Thaksin visited Luang Prabang and was warmly welcomed by the mayor of the northern Laos town and the country's Telecommunications Minister Hiem Phommachanh.
 
At that time, Laos was having problems with the planned construction of a high-speed railway. They could not agree on how benefits would be generated along the more than 420 kilometres of railroad. Senior government officials in Laos admitted the construction project might be delayed for two years.
 
The main reason was the Yingluck government's own high-speed train project. The Thai government had announced three key high-speed rail routes: Bangkok-Chiang Mai, Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima and Bangkok-Hua Hin.
 
There was uncertainty surrounding the possibility of an eventual high-speed connection between Vientiane and Bangkok. Moreover, the Thai government had decided to implement the construction project only as far as Nakhon Ratchasima, not to the border with Laos in Nong Khai.
 
For that reason, China saw no reason to hurry the construction of its high-speed train network in Laos, because in order to optimise the benefits of such a project, it would need to link with Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
 
So it was unsurprising that the Laotian government would welcome Thaksin and lead Thailand's "de facto premier" from his plane to meet leaders of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.
 
Visiting Pak Se, Thaksin was also welcomed by the governor. They were expected to discuss a special economic zone in the Khong or Mahanaty Si Phan Don areas

The Nation 2012-04-13

[isanbirder]

Not to mention to reinforce his 'image' among Thais.