Senior representatives of the Washington-based US-ASEAN Business Council expressed satisfaction with Thailand's plan to amend laws to eliminate trade obstacles to facilitate international business investment in Thailand, according to Panitan Wattanayagorn, deputy secretary-general to the prime minister.

US-ASEAN Business Council representatives met Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Panitan said the atmosphere at the meeting was cordial and that exchanges of views dealt with varied subjects which hinder trade and investment from abroad.

The council representatives also raised the issue of compulsory licensing (CL) of drugs, intellectual property protection, investment in the overlapping area between Thailand and Cambodia and government economic policy to discuss at the meeting, Mr. Panitan.

The representatives said the prime minister reassured the American visitors that the government would facilitate foreign investment, and that Deputy Prime Minister Kobsak Sabhavasu was assigned to set up an office to coordinate help for foreign investors.

Potential investors in Thailand could then be able to facilitate the process through the prime minister's one-stop service to complete the procedure, without needing to contact many ministries related to investment, he said.

Mr. Panitan said the prime minister also told the delegation that Thailand had paid close attention to intellectual property protection as well as the compulsory licensing issue, and would like the visitors to inform the US government not to list Thailand on its priority watch list as the US government was scheduled to announce country classifications on May 1.