¡¡¡¡BANGKOK, July 31 (Xinhuanet) -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra approved Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai's visit to Myanmar at the invitation of Rangoon to clear pending bilateral problems, the Thai News Agency reported Wednesday.

¡¡¡¡Thaksin was quoted as saying that Surakiart was invited by his Myanmar counterpart Win Aung after they held talks on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its dialogue partners in Brunei.

¡¡¡¡He said Surakiart called him from Brunei and reported that sound progress had been made.

¡¡¡¡However, the Thai premier refused to reveal detailed results ofthe discussions in Brunei and the date for Surakiart to start his trip, saying only that Rangoon was ready to hold further talks andexpressed its confidence in better relations between the two closeneighbors in the near future.

¡¡¡¡Asked about Rangoon's closure of its border checkpoints with Thailand over the past two months, Thaksin said that he believed the checkpoints would be re-opened when bilateral relations returnto the normal level. Enditem

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