His Majesty the King gave his good wishes to new Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag at an oath-swearing ceremony at Klai Kangwon Palace in Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Hua Hin district yesterday.
The King encouraged Mr Tej to fulfil his duty to the country to the best of his ability.
"This is an important duty. I hope you do not have too many problems in carrying out your work in the best interests of the country," said the King.
Today, Mr Tej leads Thai negotiators to the Siem Reap meeting attempting to end the border row with Cambodia.
Earlier report:
New Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag on Sunday met with ranking officials on the dispute over overlapping land adjacent to the ancient Preah Vihear temple.
Officials said they hoped the Cambodian government, fresh from an election victory on Sunday, would be more open-minded and will not set conditions during negotiations.
Mr Tej, appointed Saturday as foreign minister, was to have an audience with His Majesty the King on Sunday evening at the Klaikangwon Palace in Hua Hin for the customary swearing-in ceremony.
His first official duty then will be to lead the Thai delegation to border talks in Poipet, Cambodia.
A foreign ministry spokesman said Mr Tej was to be accompanied to the audience by several senior officials including Lt-Gen Suchit Sitthiprapha, commander of the Second Army Region responsible for security affairs in northeastern Thailand. He will also take part in the Monday talks.
Realising that the problem contains a lot of complexity, the ministry spokesman said the "upcoming negotiations will be conducted on the basis of good neighbourly relations".
Monday's talks will be the second round after last Monday's General Border Committee meeting collapsed at the Thai border district of Aranyaprathet.
"Thailand hopes that Cambodia would become more open-minded and will not set conditions for the negotiations," the spokesman said.
Earlier complaints by Cambodia that Thai troops had moved into the contested area were inaccurate, the spokesman said.
An agreement in 2000 stipulated that before any border demarcation, environment would not be destroyed by either side, the spokesman said.
But Cambodian civilians and military have already settled in the disputed area.
Thailand has warned Cambodia four times on this issue to strictly follow the agreement, he added. (TNA)
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