US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will visit Thailand to see the country's rebuilding efforts in the tsunami-hit Phuket province next week, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday.

"The objective of her visit is to observe reconstruction efforts after the tsunami," said spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow.

The tsunami on Dec. 26 last year left nearly 5,400 people dead and about 2,800 missing in Thailand, and Phuket was hit the hardest in the country.

The secretary of state will meet with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon on July 11 on the tsunami rehabilitation, efforts to fight terrorism and other issues, according to the spokesman.

Rice will leave Thailand on July 12.

Source: Xinhua