Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is scheduled to visit Morocco and the United States and attend the United Nations 60th Anniversary Millennium Summit next month, Thai News Agency reported Friday.

In Morocco, from Sept. 8 to 11, the prime minister will discuss bilateral trade issues, especially an agreement regarding tariff exemption for Thai rice, Thai Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon was quoted as saying.

The prime minister will also discuss with his Moroccan counterpart ways to combat international terrorism and plans for Thai businesses to invest in the hotel industry of the African nation, viewed as a gateway to the northern part of the continent.

During his tour to the United States, from Sept. 11 to 20, Thaksin will meet with US President George W. Bush at the White House to discuss the Thai-US Free Trade Area (FTA) and the Plan of Action as a follow-up to talks at the resort island of Phuket between the prime minister and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In addition, the prime minister will deliver a speech during the 60th UN General Assembly to urge the world body to adapt to change and undergo organizational reform, following the end of the Cold War.

The prime minister will call on UN member states to contribute to efforts to combat poverty and apply capital resources to development schemes in the current era of globalization.

Source: Xinhua