The concept of human security has expanded to the wellness of the people, said caretaker Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon. To prevent the spread of transnational diseases, such as HIV/Aids and avian influenza "regional and international cooperation is indispensable", Kantathi said.

He delivered the keynote address at the "2006 OSCE - Thailand Conference on Challenges to Global Security: From Poverty to Pandemic", which was held at the Dusit Thani Hotel. "Human security is an important and urgent issue for the international community to address," he said.

Based in Vienna, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation for Europe (OSCE) has played a strong role in confidence building since the end of the Cold War. The 55 member states have focused the OSCE's projects on various security issues, such as border control and travel documents.

At the initiative of Thailand, one of the five OSCE Asian partners, this is the first year the conference includes pandemic preparation on its agenda, OSCE secretary-general Marc Perrin de Brichambaut said.

"If a pandemic crops up, it will affect all the OSCE countries. We want to start thinking in advance, in early-warning mode, how it will be discussed," Brichambaut said.

After the end of the two-day conference, Brichambaut said he hopes to see the OSCE identifying a network of who to speak to when an epidemic breaks out in a country. "The fact that you can quickly reach the right person in each country can make much difference," he said.

He also hopes to identify projects for funding. The OSCE is setting up a fund to develop projects related to security and pandemic prevention. The hope is for the fund to be finalised by July, Brichambaut said.

Japan and South Korea have already made commitments to the fund, he added, declining to say how much money they had committed. Initially, the fund is likely to go to Afghanistan and Mongolia, the two other Asian OSCE partners besides Japan, South Korea and Thailand.

Sopaporn Kurz

The Nation