Thailand and Malaysia aim to achieve bilateral trade of US$30 billion (1 trillion baht) by 2027, with the two nations agreeing to enhance economic cooperation in key areas such as trade and investment, border connectivity, and tourism.
These matters were agreed upon during a meeting between Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and her Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim during her two-day official visit to Malaysia, which concluded on Monday.
During the visit, Ms Paetongtarn and Mr Anwar co-chaired the 7th Annual Consultation, and both countries reviewed and advanced the initiatives agreed upon during last year's discussions.
Deputy government spokesperson Sasikarn Watthanachan provided a summary of the key topics discussed by the two sides.
"Both prime ministers reaffirmed their commitment to promoting infrastructure development and strengthening trade and economic ties to achieve the US$30 billion trade target by 2027," Ms Sasikarn said.
Border trade accounted for 30% of bilateral trade, and both sides agreed that improving border connectivity and facilitating cross-border travel were crucial. She said they stressed the need to expedite two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) concerning cross-border transportation of goods and passengers.
The Thai and Malaysian leaders were also pleased with the progress of border infrastructure development projects. Ms Paetongtarn expressed hope that the two countries would enhance rail connectivity and jointly support regional logistics initiatives, such as the Asean Express freight trains.
She also agreed with establishing task forces in four key areas of agriculture and food security, trade and investment, including border trade, tourism and security to achieve tangible results.
The Thai premier acknowledged Malaysia's role as a facilitator in the peace dialogue process in the deep South. Ms Paetongtarn expressed hope that the peace talks could resume soon following the appointment of the Thai delegation leader.
She was confident that Malaysia would continue to support Thailand on the international stage, particularly within the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Both countries expressed satisfaction with close collaboration in addressing transnational crimes, including human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and online scams. Thailand is set to host the 56th General Border Committee meeting and the 2nd meeting of the Joint Working Committee on Security Cooperation next year.
Mr Anwar, meanwhile, reaffirmed bilateral relationships and cooperation across various sectors, including the economy, trade and investment, tourism, Halal food, transportation connectivity, energy, and regional security.
He described the Thailand-Malaysia partnership as a model for neighbouring countries, saying it contributed to the growth of both countries as seen from growing trade value and collaboration in vocational education, particularly in the southern border provinces.
Mr Anwar expressed support for Thailand's "6 Countries, 1 Destination" tourism initiative, which would boost the tourism industry in both nations and the region.
On security, he reiterated that the unrest in the deep South was an internal affair while expressing confidence that Thailand would succeed in fostering peace and prosperity in the region.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of two documents on rubber and cultural cooperation, which would help strengthen economic and people-to-people ties between the two countries.
