รัฐบาลไทย-ข่าวทำเนียบรัฐบาล-PM’s bilateral meeting with Malaysian PM
วันอังคารที่ 28 พฤศจิกายน 2566
28/11/2566
PM’s bilateral meeting with Malaysian PM
PM’s bilateral meeting with Malaysian PM
November 27, 2023, at 11.00 hrs, at the new Sadao Border Checkpoint, Sadao district, Songkhla province, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Srettha Thavisin welcomed Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia on occasion of the latter’s working visit to Thailand to build on the momentum of the meeting outcomes between the two Prime Ministers which took place on October 11, 2023, especially on the issue of cooperation for border development.
A plenary meeting was later held between the Prime Ministers of the two countries, with the Thai delegation consisting of Minister of Tourism and Sports Sudawan Wangsupakitkosol, and Minister of Transport Suriya Jungrungreangkit. The Malaysian delegation consisted of Minister of Works Dato’ Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi, and Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing. Government Spokesperson Chai Wacharonke disclosed gist of the meeting as follows:
The Prime Minister commended outcomes of the meeting held during his official visit to Malaysia in October, particularly cooperation for border development, which reflects the vision and intent of both Prime Ministers to promote development of the border area and better livelihood of the border people of the two countries. However, there remain issues related to trade that need to be pushed forward for mutual interest.
During his official visit to Malaysia, both the Prime Ministers came to terms on the setup of the joint task forces in 4 areas, namely, 1) trade and border trade; 2) tourism; 3) agriculture; and 4) security. They also agreed to work together in achieving trade and investment targets. However, mutual trade challenges exist. The Prime Minister was of the view that Thailand and Malaysia work more closely together to further facilitate trade activities, and to increase mutual trade value. He took the opportunity to propose a few points to bolster trade and investment cooperation:
1. The Prime Minister asked Malaysia to host the Joint Trade Commission (JTC) at the commerce minister’s level to discuss pending problems and follow up on related implementation progress
2. The Prime Minister called on Malaysia to expedite finalization of the MOU on Cross-Border Transport of Goods, especially on the cross-border issue
3. The Prime Minister endorsed cooperation between local chambers of commerce to increase trade value, and to promote tourism and border development
On tourism, Malaysia ranks top as the highest number of foreign tourists entering Thailand. The Thai Government has temporarily exempted the filing of TM.6 form at Sadao Immigration Checkpoint, Songkhla Province from November 1, 2023 to April 31, 2024 in a bid to facilitate entering of the Malaysian tourists. The Prime Minister hoped that the Malaysian counterpart would follow suit in facilitating the Thai tourists who want to enter Malaysia, and that the MOU on Cross Border Transport of Passengers be finalized soon. The Malaysian Prime Minister affirmed his country’s commitment to consider implementing measures to facilitate entering of the Thai tourists for mutual interest.
With regard to agricultural cooperation, the Thai Government has had a plan to establish the Halal Department under the authority of Ministry of Industry. Thailand would like to seek cooperation with the Malaysia counterpart in a bid to standardize and promote Halal food industry. Malaysia expressed readiness to cooperate with Thailand in this endeavor, as Halal food is an important part of food security.
On border security, both parties committed to work together in addressing illegal cross-border wildlife trade. Thai Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will closely collaborate with the Malaysian counterpart to intensively tackle the problem. An MOU will also be drafted by February 2024 to end illegal wildlife trade.
The two Prime Ministers also discussed construction projects for border connectivity, especially 1) a road connecting the new Sadao checkpoint with Malaysia's Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint, on which Malaysia committed to expedite road construction on the Malaysia side; and 2) Sungai Kolok Bridge, Narathiwat Province, connecting the 2nd Rantau Panjang, Kelantan State, Malaysia, which has been agreed upon in principle by both Thailand and Malaysia. Concerned agencies will be assigned to expedite the construction of the bridge.
After the meeting, both the Prime Minister observed construction of the road connecting the new Sadao checkpoint with Malaysia's Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint, and attended luncheon hosted by the Thai Prime Minister, before traveling to Malaysia's Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint to observe road construction on the other side.