The Pheu Thai Party has vowed to renew Thailand's diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia if it leads the next government, said the party's candidate Yingluck Shinawatra during a visit to the southern Thailand yesterday. She said if her party won the July 3 election and she became prime minister, she would find an opportunity to visit Saudi Arabia.| Her priorities seem clear enough. |
Ms Yingluck said trade relations with Saudi Arabia must be recovered. However, she said she would rather concentrate on future opportunities than the past.
She said that she hoped to increase the quota of Thai pilgrims going on the haj.
Also, Pheu Thai plans to turn the three southern border provinces into a special administration zone, said Ms Yingluck.
Ms Yingluck and her campaign team travelled to court voter support in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat yesterday. She told party supporters in the region that if the party could form a government after the July 3 election, then it would push for try to establish a special administration zone, similar to Bangkok and Pattaya, in the deep South.
The Matubhum Party called the special administration zone idea an election ploy. Most of the people in the region do not regard the special administration zone as the best way of governing the area, said Phaisal Toyip, Matubhum's candidate in Constituency 1 of Narathiwat. He added he was confident Pheu Thai could not dent his party's popularity in the southernmost provinces.