The Nation / 13 November 1998 Politics Thailand, Laos see end to border talks by 2003 By Marisa Chimprabha THAILAND and Laos have agreed to make their mutual border problem-free by 2003, when demarcation talks are scheduled to finish, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Kitti Wasinondh said on Thursday. They will also draw up a border security plan in order to secure a peaceful border along with a master plan for four sectors, Kitti said. The agreement had been endorsed during a three-day-long Thai-Lao Joint Commission meeting which ended on Wednesday. The meeting had been co-chaired by Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan and his Laotian counterpart, Somsavad Lengsavat. "Both countries have agreed that by 2003 they will have a border that is free of problems. Border demarcation that includes land and the river is expected to be completed in the same year," Kitti said. He added that demarcation of land is expected to be finished by 2000 and the river's demarcation three years later. The countries share about 1,400 kilometres of land. The Thai-Lao Boundary Committee meeting had been informed that a joint technical team had finished demarcation for 261 kilometres. Kitti said the review of the demarcated border had delayed the meeting by about five hours. However it finished the review and agreed on the next steps they would have to take for demarcation. Referring to the master plan, Kitti said it would comprise plans for electricity, transport, telecommunications, industrial agriculture and investment. Kitti said Laotian Prime Minister Sisavat Kaewbunpan is tentatively scheduled to visit Thailand next year. "During the visit, three bilateral agreements -- land transport, extradition and exemption of visas for officials and diplomats -- are expected to be signed," he said. Laos has proposed that three border passes into Thailand be upgraded to international checkpoints. "We reaffirmed that even though we are hit by the economic crisis, our technical assistance programme for Laos will continue in agriculture and education," Kitti said. United Nations Daily Highlights, 98-11-12 DAILY HIGHLIGHTS Thursday, 12 November, 1998 This daily news round-up is prepared by the Central News Section of the Department of Public Information. The latest update is posted at approximately 6:00 PM New York time. HEADLINES An international jury has selected a UN-assisted effort to cut down on opium poppy growing in the Lao People's Democratic Republic as one of five projects to be showcased at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany. The project, set up by the Government of Laos with technical aid from the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), aims to offer farmers and their communities in the Palaveck area viable alternatives to opium poppy cultivation. Drug control measures have been particularly successful in Palaveck, according to UNDCP. The combined efforts of the Government and the United Nations have reduced annual opium production from 3.5 metric tons to less than 100 kilogrammes, transformed a rice-deficient into a rice- surplus zone, and greatly improved the living conditions of about 6,000 people in the area, mostly ethnic Hmong. Villagers have been trained in crop diversification, rice production, fish farming and livestock vaccination. Coffee, pepper, cardamon and ginger have been introduced as cash crops, while improved methods of silk production and a newly constructed network of roads have allowed Hmong villagers to sell their products for the first time in nearby Vientiane. Donors to the Drug Control Programme, including Sweden, Norway, the European Union, Japan and the United States, have contributed a total of $6.5 million to the project. The United States has pledged a further $1 million so that it can be continued. EXPO 2000 will be held from 1 June to 31 October, 2000. For information purposes only - - not an official record From the United Nations home page at - email: unnews@un.org