ASEAN Summit to discuss G20 plans

THAILAND: Southeast Asian nations and key regional partners will use a summit next week to discuss their follow-up to a G20 plan to lift the world out of recession, Thailand's premier said Sunday.

The summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and dialogue partners China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand takes place in the Thai resort of Pattaya from 10-12 April.

It comes just over a week after the Group of 20 developed and emerging economies agreed at a key meeting in London to commit one trillion dollars to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global bodies.

"We will discuss what we can achieve from the G20 Summit," said Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who attended the London conference as an observer because his country holds the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN.

The Pattaya summit will be followed by a so-called Global Dialogue in the Thai capital, Bangkok, Sunday featuring United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and the chiefs of the IMF, World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

Bangkok, Sunday, AFP