Abhisit to brief UK prime minister on Cha-am outcome and discuss bilateral relations G-20 meeting will be first global effort to tackle the economic crisis

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will represent ASEAN at the April 2 Group of 20 Summit in London, where world leaders will discuss solutions to the global economic crisis.

In an interview with The Nation, Quinton Quayle, the British ambassador to Thailand, said the Thai premier would first pay an official visit to the United Kingdom this Friday and Saturday, during which he would meet British PM Gordon Brown to discuss bilateral issues as well as prepare for the G-20 Summit.

Abhisit will inform the British leader of the outcome of the recent ASEAN Summit in Cha-am, and attend other bilateral events.

The schedule includes a luncheon at Buckingham Palace, a UK investors' seminar and a City of London speech. In their preparation for the G-20 Summit, the Thai and British premiers will focus on the role of the 10-member ASEAN.

Thailand currently has the chairmanship of ASEAN.

The London summit, the first global effort to tackle the economic crisis, will be hosted by the UK leader and attended by US President Barack Obama and other world leaders, including French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the Chinese and Japanese leaders.

G-20 groups together the world's largest economies, which account for 85 per cent of global gross domestic product. It is the first time that ASEAN, which has a population of 550 million, has been invited to attend the G-20 Summit. The president of Ethiopia has also been invited in his capacity as chairman of Nepad, a grouping of African countries.

Quayle said the London Summit, which is aimed at restoring stability, stimulating growth and creating jobs, needed ASEAN as a motor to help drive the recovery process.

The summit will discuss a global deal that includes a package of internationally coordinated economic stimulus measures to reduce the severity and length of the global recession.

Secondly, it will discuss ideas and plans to kick-start lending, so that businesses and families can borrow again and businesses have the resources to invest for the future.

Thirdly, the summit will renounce protectionism, with a transparent mechanism to monitor commitments and measures to increase access to trade finance.

Fourthly, participants will discuss ideas and measures to reform international regulation. In addition, there should be an international early-warning system with a strengthened role for the International Monetary Fund.

The UK ambassador said the leaders of Spain, the Netherlands and the European Union would also attend the London Summit, as would the UN secretary-general, the World Bank, the IMF and the Financial Stability Forum.

As chairman of ASEAN, Abhisit will consult with other ASEAN leaders following his official March 13-14 visit to the UK, so that the grouping can form a common position during the London Summit.