Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Saturday that he expected the country ⁠to have a new government next week, with a list of new cabinet members to be submitted for royal endorsement on Monday.

The new government will move quickly to deliver a policy statement to ⁠parliament so it can begin ⁠its work, he said.

In a spot of good news, Anutin said Bangkok had reached an agreement with Iran to allow Thai oil vessels safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

"An agreement has been reached to allow Thai oil tankers to transit safely through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.

"With this agreement in place, there is greater confidence that disruptions like those seen in early March will not recur."

Much of Southeast Asia is bearing the brunt of fuel supply difficulties and long lines at petrol stations in Thailand have become increasingly frequent.

Anutin apologised to the public for ⁠the turmoil ‌caused by the way oil prices were managed in ‌the first half of March.

The government initially ⁠held prices steady for 15 days to try to ease the burden on the public, but ‌as the war in the Middle East dragged on, it was necessary to adopt more appropriate measures to mitigate the ⁠impact, ‌he said.

The government is ‌planning an oil tax cut, along with other support measures, ‌to ease the impact of rising oil prices.

Anutin said Thailand currently has oil ⁠reserves for 100 days. (Reuters & AFP)



Edited by Thomas McAlinden