The Associated Press - Thursday, March 13, 2003

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) _ Prince Alfred and Princess Raffaella of Liechtenstein will travel to Thailand this week on an unofficial visit to promote world peace, organizers said Wednesday.

The visit is being coordinated by the International Peace Foundation, a Vienna-based organization supported by Nobel Peace Prize winners.

The royal couple will meet Thai leaders during the March 15-24 visit, the organizers said in a statement. They are also scheduled to meet with Ambassador Klauspeter Schmallenbach, head of the European Commission, and U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director Sheldon Shaeffer.

They will present a 1 million baht (US$23,435) donation on behalf of the International Peace Foundation to the Human Development Foundation, an outreach organization operating in Bangkok’s largest slum area.

The visit is intended to lay the groundwork for a series of events attended by visiting Nobel laureates starting from November 2003 in Bangkok.

Participants will include former U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, East Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta, movie star Jackie Chan and former soccer star Franz Beckenbauer.