Press Statement by
Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
during the Official Visit to Malaysia for the Fifth Annual Consultation (AC) 
28 February 2013, Putrajaya

                     I wish to begin by expressing my appreciation to Prime Minister Najib and the Government of Malaysia for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements extended to me and my delegation since my arrival this afternoon for the Fifth Annual Consultation with Prime Minister Najib.  Last year, I came to Malaysia for my official visit and I am happy to be in your beautiful country again for my first Annual Consultation.  

                     I had a fruitful meeting with Prime Minister Najib and I am satisfied with the successful outcome. Prime Minister Najib and I are pleased with the signing of the Agreement on Border Crossing, the MOU on Cooperation on Youth and Sports, the MOU on the establishment of the Thai-Malaysian Business Council and the MOU on the Proposed Development by Private Sector in the Border Area. These are important milestones in our relations.   

                    This visit and our discussions reaffirm the close ties between Thailand and Malaysia, our commitment to further enhance our relations and to a common prosperity for the peoples along the border areas.  It is in our common interests to strengthen cooperation under existing bilateral mechanisms. We wish to further promote bilateral trade and investment, tourism, halal cooperation and labour cooperation as well as support regional connectivity and the advancement of an ASEAN Community in 2015.

                    To promote shared prosperity in the border areas, the Prime Minister and I agreed to pursue a comprehensive approach in the development of the border areas, including cooperation in security, socio-economic and human resource development as follows:

                         - On the economic front, we have agreed to speed up the proposed construction of the two bridges across the Golok River linking Takbai with Pengklan Kubor and Sungai Golok with Rantau Panjang. We will also accelerate plans to link the Southern Development Plan (SDP) with the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) with Malaysia. This is to promote people to people links, cross border trade and infrastructure connectivity between our two countries.

                         - Thailand and Malaysia share concerns on traditional, non-traditional and trans-national security issues. We agreed to enhance our security cooperation in the border areas in immigration, combating trans-national crimes and human trafficking, the international transfer of prisoners as well as counter-extremism. This will contribute to our efforts in solving these security concerns.

                         - On human resources development, I thanked Prime Minister Najib and the Government of Malaysia for granting annual scholarships to Thai students from the Southern Border Provinces to study in Malaysia and also for sharing best practices in education.  I have expressed my desire to work closely with the Prime Minister to legalize the employment of Thai workers in restaurants in Malaysia and I am pleased that the Prime Minister would consider enhancing cooperation with Thailand in this area.       

                    Cooperation in resolving the situation in the Southern Border Provinces is a very important aspect of our relations. I have assured Prime Minister Najib that Thailand wishes to seek a lasting  solution in the Southern Border Provinces through economic development and addressing all the root causes of the situation in the Southern Border Provinces. 

                     I briefed Prime Minister Najib about Thailand’s ongoing effort to promote peace and prosperity in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand through a comprehensive approach. In this context, with a view to putting an end to violence and creating a peaceful and harmonious environment for the benefit of the entire population in the area, the Thai authorities are willing to engage in process of inclusive dialogue with all the relevant stakeholders and groups concerned to address root causes of the problem in accordance with the stated Administration and Development Policy for the Southern Border Provinces and within the framework of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand.

                    Prime Minister Najib expressed his full support for the approach being undertaken by the Thai side and viewed the forthcoming dialogue as a step forward for peace. And in this regard, Prime Minister Najib expressed his readiness to assist the Thai side in facilitating such a dialogue process in order to create an environment conducive to a lasting peace and prosperity in Southern Border Provinces of Thailand. I also wish to say that we greatly appreciate the strong support given by Malaysia for the dialogue process. We need to move forward as soon as possible.  The National Security Council of the two countries shall coordinate on the modalities of such cooperation. Both sides reiterated their strong call for the end to acts of indiscriminate violence against innocent civilians in order to enhance mutual trust and confidence.

                    Lastly, as founding members of ASEAN, we believe that our efforts and cooperation contribute to ASEAN community building, regional connectivity, peace and prosperity. 
 
                    Thank you.