Bangkok- In a first for a South-East Asian summit, Thailand will host a "global dialogue" next month inviting such bigwigs as United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Trade Organization chief Pascal Lamy, officials announced Monday.

Thailand will host the 14th summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) December 13 to 17 in its northern city of Chiang Mai.

ASEAN summits are now annual events that include a host of meetings on diverse topics from civil society to commerce and numerous sub-summits with the region's main trading partners China, Japan, South Korea and India.

This year's ASEAN meeting will include a separate summit with the UN on December 17, in Bangkok, 550 kilometres south of Chiang Mai, and a first-ever "ASEAN Global Dialogue" on the 18th, also in Bangkok.

Other invited guests include Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

"We need the world to hear us and see us," said ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who will co-host the global dialogue.

The Thai government shifted the ASEAN summit venue from Bangkok to Chiang Mai to prevent disruption by anti-government protestors who have already expelled the cabinet from Government House and occupied the grounds. (dpa)