Miss Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, is scheduled to visit Malaysia on 28 February 2013 for the Fifth Annual Consultation (AC) with Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib, Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Foreign Affairs and several other Ministers.

   The Fifth Annual Consultation aims at cultivating friendly relations between the two Prime Ministers as well as relevant Ministers of both countries, reaffirming the close partnership between Thailand and Malaysia, following up on the progress on various areas of cooperation since official visit to Malaysia on 20 February 2012 and Prime Minister Yingluck’s discussing future areas of cooperation.    
 
   During this Annual Consultation, both sides are expected to discuss and exchange views on various issues of common interest, namely (1) a comprehensive approach to resolve the situation in the Southern Border Provinces (SBPs), encompassing socio-economic development and connectivity in border areas such as the proposed construction of the two bridges crossing Golok River linking Narathiwat Province and the State of Kelantan at Sungai Golok - Rantau Panjang and Tak Bai-Pengkalan Kubor, and the integration of development plan and special economic zones of CIQ Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam, (2) cooperation on legal employment of Thai workers in Tom Yum restaurants (Thai restaurants) in Malaysia, (3) Halal cooperation on halal industry in which Thailand has established a National Committee on the Promotion of Halal Business and Products to work with Malaysia’s Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC) in concretizing cooperation in the areas of marketing, services, and research and development (4) cooperation on trade and investment, such as the establishment of a Thailand – Malaysia Business Council (TMBC) and (5) cooperation on tourism, particularly the linkage of Satun Province with Langkawi and railway tourism on the Padang Besar – Hadyai – Bangkok and Chiang Mai route.
After the plenary session, both Prime Ministers will witness the signings of the Agreement on Border Crossing and the MOU on Cooperation in Youth and Sports before holding a joint press conference.  

   The Malaysian Prime Minister will also host a dinner in honour of the Prime Minister of Thailand and her delegation. Thailand and Malaysia share close and dynamic relations. Malaysia is Thailand’s fourth largest trading partner. In 2012, total trade value between the two countries amounted to US$ 25.5 billion, of which 65 percent was from border trade. Bilateral trade between both countries constitutes 57 percent of the total trade between Thailand and neighbouring countries. In 2012, 2.56 million Malaysian tourists came to Thailand while almost 1 million Thai tourists visited Malaysia.

   Thailand hosted the Fourth Annual Consultation on 8-9 December 2009.