รัฐบาลไทย-ข่าวทำเนียบรัฐบาล-Thailand - Cambodia agree to elevate bilateral relations to “Strategic Partnership”
วันพุธที่ 7 กุมภาพันธ์ 2567
07/02/2567
Thailand - Cambodia agree to elevate bilateral relations to “Strategic Partnership”
Thailand - Cambodia agree to elevate bilateral relations to “Strategic Partnership”
February 7, 2024 at 1110hrs, at the Inner Santi Maitri Building, Government House, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Srettha Thavisin and Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet of the Kingdom of Cambodia co-chaired the signing ceremony of 5 Memorandum of Understanding (MOUs):
1. MoU between the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Thailand and the National Committee for Disaster Management of the Kingdom of Cambodia on Cooperation in the Area of Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response: with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul as signatory for Thailand, and Senior Minister and First Vice-President of National Committee for Disaster Management of Cambodia H.E. General Kun Kim is the signatory of the Kingdom of Cambodia
2. MoU Between the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia on Academic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation: with Minister of Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Supamas Isarabhakdi as signatory for Thailand, and Minister of Industry Science, Technology and Innovation H.E. Hem Vanndy is the signatory of the Kingdom of Cambodia
3. MoU on the Transit of Goods between the Customs Department of the Kingdom of Thailand and the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia: with Director General of the Customs Department Theeraj Athanavanich as signatory for Thailand, and Minister Attached to Prime Minister and the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia H.E. Dr. Kun Nhem is the signatory of the Kingdom of Cambodia
4. MoU between Export-Import Bank of Thailand and the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce to promote trade and investment between Thailand and Cambodia: with President of the EXIM Bank Rak Vorrakitpokatorn as signatory for Thailand, and President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce Neak Okhnha Kith Meng is the signatory of the Kingdom of Cambodia
5. MoU between Board of Trade of Thailand and Cambodia Chamber of Commerce: with Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Sanan Angubolkul as signatory for Thailand, and President of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce Neak Okhnha Kith Meng is the signatory of the Kingdom of Cambodia
Later, both the leaders held a joint press conference, gist of which is as follows:
Bilateral Relations: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to elevate the Thailand - Cambodia relations to “Strategic Partnership”, which will open up many new opportunities to work more closely. Thailand will open a new Consulate-General in Siem Reap, while Cambodia will open a new Consulate-General in Songkhla later this year.
Security Cooperation: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to strengthen security cooperation to maintain peace and stability, especially along the Thai-Cambodian border. The Prime Minister reassured Prime Minister Hun Manet that it is Thailand’s policy not to allow anyone to use Thailand as a platform to interfere in the internal affairs, or conduct harmful activities against neighboring countries. The two countries will also strengthen cooperation to fight transnational crimes, especially cyber scam networks.
Economic Cooperation: Thailand will host the 7th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) at the Commerce Minister level as early as May 2024, to come up with a plan to boost the volume of bilateral trade. A quick win will be the immediate implementation of the MoU on Goods in Transit that was just signed, which will help increase the volume of trade, especially border trade. The country also welcomes the signing of the MoUs between EXIM Bank of Thailand and Cambodian Chamber of Commerce, and between Thai and Cambodian Chambers of Commerce, which will also help increase two-way trade and investment.
Border Development: On the development of border areas, the two sides discussed and agreed to enhance cooperation in the exploitation of hydrocarbons resources in the Overlapping Claims Area. Thailand and Cambodia pledged to make their border free from landmines. The goal is to make border areas safe for peoples of both countries. The two countries will make progress on the upgrading of pending border-crossing checkpoints. The Joint Boundary Commission (JBC) will be convened at the earliest opportunity. The MoU on Disaster Emergency Response, which was just signed, will provide a framework for closer cooperation in response to emergencies, especially along the border areas.
Tourism Cooperation: The two countries agreed to look into ways to make it easier for tourists to travel across borders and visit points of interest in Thailand and Cambodia, as well as in other neighboring countries in one trip under the “Six-Countries, One-Destination” campaign to promote regional tourism. The Agreement on Border Crossing will also be updated to allow for the use of temporary border pass, longer stay, and access to non-border provinces. Thailand and Cambodia will resume negotiation on the Bilateral Agreement on Cross-Border Transportation by Road to enable border crossing by private cars.
Cross-Border Haze: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to set up a Joint Working Group to map out cooperation, including (1) establishing a hotline for sharing of information and alerts on burning locations, (2) emergency responses, and (3) capacity building and sharing of best practices in areas such as agricultural burning management. The Prime Minister also invited Cambodia to join the CLEAR Sky Strategy with Thailand, Lao PDR and Myanmar to work together on this issue.
Labor Cooperation: The Prime Minister reassured Prime Minister Hun Manet that Thailand attaches high importance to making sure that Cambodian workers in Thailand receive fair treatment and proper economic safety net.
Myanmar Situation: Thailand and Cambodia share the same goal of the desire to see a peaceful, stable and unified Myanmar. The Thai Government will play a proactive role to provide humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar people, and promote peaceful solutions in Myanmar. The country will do this together with ASEAN.
Lastly, next year will mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Cambodia. There will be a series of activities to deepen friendship and understanding between the peoples of both countries, especially the youths. Both the Prime Ministers expressed optimism about the future of relations and cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia, and will continue to meet and consult regularly.