Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Monday there is a possibility that Thai caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai will be nominated to be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN).

Thaksin made the remarks after his meeting with leaders of other countries at the two-day summit of the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Finnish capital of Helsinki, the official Tai News Agency reported.

Speaking of his lobbying for support for Surakiart's bid to become the UN Secretary-General, Thaksin said he had talked to leaders of France and the United Kingdom, two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Surakiart's chance of being nominated for the position are about fifty-fifty, he said.

Earlier, Thai local media had reported that most of the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are supporting Surakiart, who will contest for the UN Secretary- General post as incumbent UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's term will end at the end of this year.

Surakiart's candidacy has been endorsed by the 10-member ASEAN, and the 48-year-old Thai deputy premier has been campaigning for the UN top post since 2004.

During an ASEAN meeting two months ago, Surakiart dubbed his campaign as "a listening tour", where he traversed the globe to listen to people's views.

"I've traveled to all the regions in the world, to many countries, and attended conferences so that people can come and talk to me, expressing their views and priorities and concern of the United Nations, especially the UN reform," Surakiart said.

Source: Xinhua