According to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, significant task forces have been established between Malaysia and Thailand to strengthen their collaboration in a number of industries.
They will be in charge of overseeing topics relating to tourism, trade, investments, border security, and food security.
The Malaysian Prime Minister said he was delighted with the practical solutions reached by both parties to solve those challenges, describing Thailand as one of the country’s most important near neighbours.
“I am pleased that you have given a very pragmatic and business-like decisions, which is rare in our normal bilateral relations between our countries,” said Anwar during a joint press conference with his Thai counterpart Srettha Thavisin following a bilateral meeting at the Perdana Putra building on Wednesday.
Agriculture, tourism, food security, investment, trade, the halal sector, and automobiles—particularly the proposal for Proton and Chinese manufacturer Geely to establish a facility in Thailand—were among the main topics covered at the meeting.
Anwar added that after the pertinent reports were sent to him and Srettha, the two sides will meet again in a month to assess the task forces’ work.
As neighbours, “we need to help one another, and we hope that (both nations) will greatly profit from our cooperation,” he said.
Srettha claimed that Malaysia and Thailand had discussed the topic of national security in southern Thailand at the press conference.
“We decided to establish a trade zone in southern Thailand and work to make the region more prosperous”, he continued.
Srettha added that the two nations have decided to boost trade and commerce for the good of the populace.
Regarding food security, he claimed that while Thailand has significant food production capacity, Malaysia was needed for halal certification.
Srettha stated, “With Malaysia’s accreditation, we can widen our market, and we think cooperation may be further enhanced in this field.
Srettha came in Malaysia on Wednesday for his first official two-day work tour after being sworn in as prime minister on September 5.
He and Anwar were conversing for the second time at this time. Their initial meeting was last month on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly.
Thailand ranked third among Asean countries and was Malaysia’s third-largest trading partner in 2022. From RM97.55bil in 2021, the total trade climbed by 17.9 percent to RM122.03bil in 2022.