Thai offers to help Indonesia on haze issue

Thailand is ready to help Indonesia end the haze problem, caused by open burning and forest fires in Indonesia.

However, the Thai government would wait for Indonesia to work out details of the assistance required, said Vitavas Srivihok, Thai Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs.

The Indonesian side would inform the ASEAN what kind of assistance was needed, he said after a meeting with Indonesian ambassador to Thailand, Lutfi Rauf, here Thursday.

Thailand's Foreign Ministry invited Lufti to meet and discuss the haze problem, which had affected Thailand's southern provinces including Phuket, which recorded an unhealthy air quality index of 131 as at 3pm Thursday.

Vitavas said at the end of this month there will be a meeting of the Natural Resources Ministerial Level meeting among ASEAN members in Hanoi, Vietnam, which could be a good avenue for ASEAN members to discuss the issue and find solutions.

He said that during the half an hour meeting, Lutfi conveyed Indonesia's apology to Thailand and other countries in the region over the haze problem, and also thanked Thailand for the offer to help them.

Lutfi explained that the blaze was due to two reasons, the private companies which set fire and natural reason such as climate change.

He said that Indonesia would take serious legal action against those companies responsible for open burning.