Thailand takes chairmanship of ASEAN

Thailand takes the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), now under the leadership of former Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan, from this August. Vitavas Srivihok, director general of the ASEAN Affairs Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that regional cooperation is required to help each country cope with the energy crisis. For ASEAN, nuclear power should be the long term answer while renewable energies should be the short-term answers, he said. As for biofuels, according to Vittavas, its promotion through ASEAN cooperation should aim for domestic consumption first. (June 18, 2008)