The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has postponed his visit to BIMST-EC Summit at Phuket, Thailand and bilateral visit to Australia. A statement to this effect was issued from New Delhi, today. The following is the text of the statement:-

“The Prime Minister had two telephonic conversations – on Saturday and Monday – with the Prime Minister of Thailand about the forthcoming BIMST-EC Summit.

Prime Minister informed the Prime Minister of Thailand that he would be unable to attend the Summit on February 8-9 because of a number of domestic preoccupations. The Prime Minister of Thailand conveyed that he had discussed this with the other BIMST-EC leaders, and it was felt that it would be inappropriate to proceed with the Summit under these circumstances. It was, therefore, agreed that the Summit would be postponed to a subsequent mutually convenient date, to be fixed through diplomatic channels.

The Prime Minister has also postponed his bilateral visit to Australia, which was scheduled to follow his visit to Phuket for the BIMST-EC Summit. He has written to the Prime Minister of Australia, explaining the circumstances.”