Surapong off to Washington to meet Kerry
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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul will officially visit the United States next week to introduce himself to his counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry. Matters to be discussed during the visit include a framework for
Surapong said the issue of cross-border human trafficking was very important as Thailand has been stuck on the second tier of countries on a US human-trafficking watchlist for the past two years. The minister said he hoped to be able to convince Kerry that Thailand was tackling the issue with utmost seriousness.
The Foreign Ministry earlier issued a written clarification stating that Thailand had a concrete plan to tackle human trafficking and expressed hope that the country would be upgraded and avoid trade penalties.
