When Thai and Cambodian officials sit down for talks to end their border dispute today and tomorrow in Siem Reap, the spotlight will be on Vasin Teeravechyan.
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| Vasin: Took up challenge |
The low-profile Mr Vasin has been picked to lead the Thai delegation on the Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) to face his Cambodian counterpart Var Kim Hong, Prime Minister Hun Sen's adviser and senior minister.
Mr Vasin came out of retirement for this role, having been the Thai ambassador to South Korea in his last position.
He was approached late last month by permanent secretary for foreign affairs Virasakdi Futrakul and his former boss Saroj Chavanaviraj to take up what is a sensitive post, given the rocky relations between Thailand and Cambodia now.
He accepted because he wanted to help his country end the conflict.
The head of the JBC delegation is normally a deputy foreign minister. But since Thailand does not currently have one, Mr Vasin's position is the closest equivalent.
He has made it clear that he is not involved in politics and has no personal relationship with Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat.
The appointment of Mr Vasin, 60, has raised hopes among ministry officials. Many see him as the right choice because of his past experience in handling border demarcation issues with neighbouring countries.
"We are very glad to have someone who is knowledgeable about the border problems with Cambodia to lead the negotiations, rather than a politician with no background in such issues," one ministry official said.
Mr Vasin has strong credentials both in education and work experience.
A law graduate from Chulalongkorn University, he spent 37 years working at the ministry, most of the time handling legal matters at the Treaties and Legal Affairs Department.
He started as a junior officer working in different divisions, and gradually gathered his diplomatic skills and experience until becoming director-general of the department in 1997.
As director-general, Mr Vasin helped the department pave the way for border negotiations with neighbouring countries.
He also helped prepare the signing of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on land border demarcation between Thailand and Cambodia in 2000.
But he left to become ambassador to the Netherlands before the signing and then moved to the South Korean post.
The MoU will be used as a framework for the JBC at the two-day meeting in Cambodia.
Under the MoU, the two sides have agreed to separate the work of demarcation into seven sections along the 798km border and will discuss the field survey and demarcation of non-disputed areas first. Troubled areas, such as the 4.6 sq km near Preah Vihear temple, are expected to be discussed later. Thailand uses the same negotiation framework with Laos and Malaysia.
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