THAI GOVERNMENT SOLICITS USG SUPPORT FOR A THAI

UNCLAS BANGKOK 000226 DEPT. FOR INL, IO, AND EAP/MLA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PREL TH SUBJECT: THAI GOVERNMENT SOLICITS USG SUPPORT FOR A THAI CANDIDATE, MR. VIROJ SUMYAI, FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS CONTROL BOARD MEMBERSHIP ¶1. (U) Post is in receipt of diplomatic note number 1004/C1947 from the Royal Thai Government's (RTG) Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated December 26, 2008. The note solicits the support of the USG for Mr. Viroj Sumyai, Assistant Secretary General for Narcotic Drugs Suppression, an office within the Thai Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Public Health, as a candidate for membership of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) for the term running between 2010 and 2015. The election for this position will be held during the resumed organizational session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC),during April-May 2009, in New York. The RTG configures this candidate as highly qualified and emblematic of Thailand's commitment to the work of the INCB. ¶2. (U) Mr. Viroj's CV shows him to have been educated in Pharmacology at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, at Manila Central University in the Philippines, and to have apprenticed in narcotics drugs epidemiology at St. George's University in England. In addition to his current posting with the RTG's Food and Drug Administration, he has been the Director of the Narcotics Control Division within the Thai FDA (1988-2001). He has published nine articles and handbooks on psychotropic drugs, pharmacopathology, and treatment of addicts, two of them in international journals. ¶3. (U) Post has inquired into Mr. Viroj's record regarding issues of importance to the USG and has not found any indication that he has taken positions inimical to US interests. Post believes that Mr. Viroj would be a suitable candidate for this position and requests that this request for USG support be given every due consideration. JOHN