Joint Press Statement The Fourth Annual Consultation between the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Prime Minister of Malaysia Bangkok, 8 December 2009
1. The Fourth Annual Consultation between the Kingdom of Thailand and Malaysia was held in Bangkok, Thailand on 8 December 2009. His Excellency Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Honourable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, co-chaired the Annual Consultation in an atmosphere of very close friendship and solidarity. The Fourth Annual Consultation was held in conjunction with the official visit of the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia to Thailand from 7 to 9 December 2009.
2. As close friends and neighbours, both sides agreed to further enhance and deepen their cooperation in areas of common interest, as well as to jointly explore new opportunities presented by the changing global landscape. Both Prime Ministers expressed their satisfaction with the current state of bilateral relations which they described as warm and friendly and based on mutual respect and trust.
3. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the current level of trade relations, while hoping that it could be further expanded. Malaysia invited more investments from Thailand in Malaysia. In this regard, Thailand will dispatch a trade and investment mission to Malaysia in early 2010 to discuss with concerned authorities.
4. Both sides considered the Annual Consultation to be an ideal meeting of minds in which issues pertaining to Thailand and Malaysia’s common interests could be discussed in a comprehensive manner. Issues discussed at the Fourth Annual Consultation included security cooperation, including transboundary issues and cooperation in the Southern Border Provinces (SBPs) of Thailand, and connectivity between Thailand, Malaysia and the region, including people-to-people connectivity, infrastructure development and economic cooperation. Both sides also agreed that bilateral mechanisms, such as the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation Meeting (JC) and the Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS) co-chaired by the Foreign Ministers of Thailand and Malaysia, have been an effective medium for both countries to discuss issues of mutual concern and facilitate cooperation in numerous areas.
5. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate on transboundary issues, including combating the trafficking of people, narcotic drugs and arms smuggling. In particular, the two Prime Ministers agreed to strenghten efforts to combat human trafficking, through the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Combating Human Trafficking by 2010. Regarding maritime security, both sides agreed to enhance existing cooperation, whether in joint patrols to combat human, drugs and arms trafficking or as part of a broader initiative to stamp out piracy in the Straits of Malacca.
6. The two Prime Ministers also discussed the situation in the SBPs and condemned the perpetration of violence by individuals and ill-intentioned groups against innocent civilians in the SBPs, particularly women and children. Malaysia reaffirmed its support for the resolution of the problems through peaceful means.
7. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhance connectivity, including people-to-people connectivity and infrastructure development, between Thailand and Malaysia, and agreed that such connectivity would also benefit the greater ASEAN Community as a whole by contributing to a Community of Connectivity.
8. Both Prime Ministers agreed to continue implementing the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) in the SBPs under the 3Es Approach, namely education, employment and entrepreneurship, in order to promote socio-economic development in those areas. They were also pleased with the progress made in all the areas under the 3Es. In this regard, the Thai and Malaysian Prime Ministers will visit the Narathiwat province and the State of Kelantan on 9 December 2009 to co-officiate the ceremony to name the Second Bridge Across the Golok River which links Ban Buketa and Bukit Bunga as the “Friendship Bridge” and to observe firsthand the progress of the CBMs, including visiting Attr Alkiah Institute, viewing local products under the One Tambon, One Product (OTOP) scheme, and meeting local representatives.
9. In order to facilitate cross-border movement, Thailand and Malaysia expressed their determination to conclude the signing of the Agreement on Border Crossing by 2010, as well as to continue discussions on ways and means to resolve the technical problems on data linkage between Thailand’s Smartcard and Malaysia’s Mykad national identification card systems.
10. Both sides were pleased that the MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education would be signed by the first quarter of 2010, as this would promote an increased exchange of academic information and research among institutes of higher learning in Thailand and Malaysia.
11. Both sides considered that youth represent their countries’ futures, and sports is a universal language that transcends all boundaries and ethnicities. In this regard, the two Prime Ministers agreed to urge their respective ministries to expedite the conclusion of the Agreement in the Fields of Youth and Sports, by 2010 which would help promote friendship and goodwill between future generations and contribute to ASEAN Community building.
12. In order to enhance physical connectivity between Thailand and Malaysia, and by extension the region as a whole, both sides agreed to expedite the completion of the Friendship Bridge Two and the Friendship Bridge Three across the Golok River, which would link Sungai Golok with Rantau Panjang and Tak Bai — Pengkalan Kubor respectively. Thailand also welcomed Malaysia’s contribution towards the development of the Singapore-Kunming Railway Link (SKRL) project, particularly on the construction of two dual-rail projects from Ipoh to Padang Besar and Seremban to Gemas, which parallels Thailand’s own efforts to upgrade its rail infrastructure with dual-rail tracks, as the two projects could complement each other. Both sides took note with interest of the proposed Satun-Perlis Highway Tunnel Project which would facilitate and promote trade, investment and tourism between both countries, as well as support the broader regional connectivity plan.
13. Both sides also agreed to convene a meeting to discuss a new framework on Transit of Goods and Passengers from Thailand through Malaysia to Singapore and Transit of Goods and Passengers from Malaysia through Thailand to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, in February 2010, whereby the existing implementation of the various ASEAN Transport Agreements in ASEAN Frameworks Agreement on Goods in Transit may be considered as references. This will promote free flow transport services and greater economic connectivity between Thailand and Malaysia as well as other ASEAN member states. In addition, both sides agreed to convene a high-level meeting under the JDS framework to discuss the details of the proposed linkage of the Southern Development Plan (SDP) of Thailand with the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) of Malaysia at the earliest opportunity.
14. Both sides recognized the enormous potentials of the global Halal trade and industry and the tremendous opportunities it could bring to their respective private sectors, especially Muslim entrepreneurs. The two Prime Ministers also recognized that the two countries’ competitive edges should complement each other in developing their respective Halal industries to a higher level, such as synergizing the expertise of Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) in brand development and marketing with laboratory training on Halal forensics at Chulalongkorn University’s Halal Science Centre in Thailand.
15. The Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia expressed his appreciation and gratitude to the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand for the excellent arrangements and hospitality accorded by the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th