Joint Press Statement

The 7^th Annual Consultation between

the Prime Minister of Malaysia and

the Prime Minister of Thailand

16 December 2024, Putrajaya, Malaysia

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1. The 7^th Annual Consultation between The Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia and Her Excellency Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, was convened on 16 December 2024 in Putrajaya, Malaysia after the 6^th Annual Consultation Bangkok, Thailand in 2016. The 7^th Annual Consultation took place in conjunction with the first Official Visit of Her Excellency Prime Minister of Thailand to Malaysia after assuming office in August 2024.

2. The 7^th Annual Consultation was held in a warm and cordial atmosphere. The Prime Minister of Malaysia reiterated his best wishes to Her Excellency Paetongtarn Shinawatra on her appointment as the 31^st Prime Minister of Thailand and looked forward to fostering strong bilateral relations. Both Leaders expressed their pleasure with the longstanding neighbourly ties and mutually-beneficial cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand and reaffirmed their commitment to further intensifying bilateral cooperation in areas of shared interest and identify new potential partnerships, both bilaterally and within ASEAN, for the betterment of both countries and the region.

Overview of Malaysia-Thailand Relations

3. Both Prime Ministers expressed satisfaction with the frequent exchanges of high-level visits since the 6^th Annual Consultation, which have contributed to the deepening of the bilateral ties and mutual synergies between the two countries. The key visits included the Official Visit of The Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, to Thailand from 9 to 10 February 2023, the Visit of His Excellency Mr. Srettha Thavisin, former Prime Minister of Thailand, to Malaysia from 11 to 12 October 2023; the Joint Working Visit of the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Thailand to Sadao, Thailand on 27 November 2023; the Joint Working Visit of the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Thailand to Narathiwat, Thailand and Kelantan, Malaysia on 3 August 2024; and the Visit to Malaysia by His Excellency Phumtham Wechayachai, Deputy Prime Minister and the then Minister of Commerce of Thailand from 3 to 4 July 2024 for the 3^rd Joint Trade Committee Meeting (JTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

4. Both sides were also pleased with the convening of the 15^th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JC) Meeting and the 6^th Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS) in Kuala Lumpur, which took place in conjunction with the Official Visit of His Excellency Maris Sangiampongsa, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, to Malaysia from 5 to 6 August 2024. Both Foreign Ministers took stock of the development that had taken place since the last Meetings in 2022, which provided the way forward and momentum for the preparation of the 7^th Annual Consultation.

5. Both Leaders reviewed the commendable progress of bilateral cooperation which is multi-sectoral, covering trade and investment, people-to-people connectivity, infrastructure, socio-economic development in the border areas, security, education, agriculture and tourism. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the effectiveness of existing bilateral mechanisms, such as, among others, the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JC), Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS), Joint Trade Committee (JTC), General Border Committee (GBC) and High-Level Committee (HLC), in elevating bilateral ties to greater heights. Both Leaders also expressed their commitment to expediting the meeting of four Joint Task Forces, namely, Trade and Investment, including border trade; Tourism; Security; and Agriculture and Food Security, including Halal cooperation.

Political-Security Cooperation

6. Both sides agreed to strengthen efforts in border management and cooperation in combatting issues related to transnational crimes including, but not limited to, human trafficking, people smuggling, drug trafficking, cybercrime, international terrorism and extremism through information and intelligence sharing, promoting moderation and exchanges of best practices in deradicalisation programs. Both Leaders also concurred to enhance existing cooperation in maritime security along the shared maritime borders of Malaysia and Thailand. Both sides also declared to strengthen cooperation and coordination, especially among law enforcement and border management agencies, for a timely and effective response to online job scams and to prevent survivors from being re-trafficked into forced criminalities.

7. The Leaders recognised the robust and close partnership in bilateral defence and security cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand. Both sides noted with satisfaction the convening of the 55^th General Border Committee (GBC) in Kuala Lumpur on 26 May 2022, the 38^th High-Level Committee (HLC) in Kuala Lumpur on 12 November 2024 and the 115^th Regional Border Committee (RBC) in Bangkok on 4 September 2024. Leveraging on the close succession of the engagements, both sides agreed to strengthen further security and defence cooperation through regular exchanges of visits and exercises. Given the important role of GBC in endorsing the progress reports from HLC and RBC, the Leaders also looked forward to the convening of the 56^th GBC in Thailand, in the near future.

8. The two Prime Ministers also discussed the latest developments in the Southern Border Provinces (SBPs) of Thailand. They commended the positive progress in the ongoing Peace Dialogue Process in the SBPs, which aims at achieving lasting peace, security and prosperity in the SBPs. The Prime Minister of Thailand expressed appreciation to the Prime Minister of Malaysia for Malaysia’s sincere and constructive role of Malaysia in facilitating the Process and reaffirmed the Government of Thailand’s efforts to find effective solutions towards sustainable and inclusive peace in the SBPs Both sides also congratulated Datuk Haji Mohd Rabin bin Basir on his appointment as the Facilitator for the Peace Dialogue Process in the SBPs on 1 July 2024.

9. Both Leaders welcomed the ongoing efforts to develop a Joint Comprehensive Plan towards Peace (JCPP) as a roadmap to create a conducive environment for peace and recognised that the development of the JCPP reflects the mutual trust and confidence shared by the parties concerned. Towards this end, both sides encouraged the parties to continue the ongoing dialogue as a form of trust- and confidence-building exercise.

10. Both Leaders vehemently condemned the emerging violent incidents against innocent civilians in the SBPs and strongly called for an end to these acts of violence. They agreed for the relevant agencies of both sides to continue exchanging information and cooperate under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, promoting capacity building programmes and advancing confidence building measures to pave way for sustainable peace in the SBPs.

Economic Cooperation

11. The Prime Ministers expressed their pleasure with the growing bilateral trade and investment over the recent years, as well as the substantial contribution of border trade to the overall trade relations. They were delighted with the outcomes of the 3^rd JTC Meeting on 4 July 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, which reflected the shared vision of both countries in increasing bilateral trade and investment. Both Prime Ministers tasked the relevant officials to work closer to achieve the bilateral trade target of USD30 billion by 2027. Thailand will host the 4^th JTC Meeting on the mutually agreed date.

12. The Leaders acknowledged the crucial role of their private sectors in strengthening the economic partnership between the two countries. Both Prime Ministers expressed support for increasing business-to-business cooperation to boost bilateral trade and investment. They emphasised the importance of enhancing economic ties, particularly in strategic sectors such as rubber and Halal industries.

13. Both leaders highlighted the importance of digital economy and encouraged relevant authorities of both countries to explore deeper cooperation through the MOU between Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) of Thailand and Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) which was signed in 2023 to create conducive environment that attracts angels to support potential technology companies in both countries.

14. Both Prime Ministers welcomed the recent efforts to promote tourism and facilitate mobility of tourists between Malaysia and Thailand as well as the wider region. In this regard, the two Prime Ministers welcomed further discussion by officials from both countries on the ‘Six Countries, One Destination’ scheme, proposed by Thailand. On a similar note, both countries agreed to explore potential joint campaigns to co-promote Visit Malaysia 2026 and Amazing Thailand Grand Tourism Year 2025 initiatives as well as expressed support for each other’s tourism campaign.

15. Cognisant of the fact that the global Halal economy may reach USD5 trillion by 2030, the Leaders agreed to develop a greater complementarity of the Halal industry in both countries. This includes the continuation of joint export promotional activities on Halal goods and services; the exchanges of best practices and business know-how; research and development of Halal products as well as more active collaboration involving Malaysian and Thai public and private sectors. Malaysia is open to supporting Thai officials in developing a local Halal ecosystem by offering courses under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP). This initiative would provide an opportunity for Thailand to gain insights into Halal standards and practices while helping to strengthen its Halal sector.

16. Both Leaders were pleased with the signing of the MOU between the Malaysian Rubber Board and the Rubber Authority of Thailand on 16 December 2024, which would pave the way to a stronger partnership between Malaysia and Thailand in the joint efforts to develop the rubber industry. In this regard, the Leaders agreed for both agencies to collaborate further in sharing of knowledge and technology. Both sides also welcomed the rubber cooperation under the umbrella of IMT-GT with the signing of the MOU on the IMT-GT Rubber Cities and Rubber Industry Cooperation between the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority of Malaysia, the Rubber Authority of Thailand and the Ministry of Industry of Indonesia on 16 September 2022.

Border Cooperation

17. The Prime Ministers underscored the importance of border cooperation to enhance economic cooperation and people-to-people ties as well as strengthen border security. In this regard, the two Leaders acknowledged with satisfaction with the signing of the MOU on the Construction and Maintenance of Single Barrier in the Area BP 20A/12 to BP 23/104, which was the outcome of the 25^th Joint Thailand-Malaysia Land Boundary Committee (LBC) held in Bangkok, Thailand from 31 July to 2 August 2018.

18. Both sides also welcomed the convening of the 49^th Joint Technical Committee on the Joint Malaysia-Thailand Land Boundary Demarcation and Survey (JTC-49) in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from 29 to 31 August 2024. This was the first JTC meeting held in six years. Both Leaders further called on the relevant authorities to discuss all pending issues under the framework of LBC, and to convene the 26^th LBC at a mutually agreed date. Both Prime Ministers concurred on the importance of working towards the finalisation of the MOU/Agreement between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand on the Fixed and Permanent Boundary of Areas VIIIA, VIIIB, VIIIC and VIIID along Sungai Golok at the earliest possible time.

19. Recalling the discussion by the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and Thailand during the Joint Working Visit to Narathiwat, Thailand and Kelantan, Malaysia on 3 August 2024, the Leaders reiterated their commitment to expedite cooperation on flood prevention and mitigation of the Golok river Towards this end, both Leaders tasked their respective agencies to resolve any arising issues at the technical level with a view to enable for the necessary maintenance of the Golok river.

20. The two Leaders commended the progress in cross-border infrastructure development projects that aim to promote connectivity between both countries and called on the relevant agencies from both Malaysia and Thailand to ensure the timely completion of the projects. Both sides acknowledged the importance of the Bukit Kayu Hitam-Sadao checkpoints as the busiest and largest economic, tourism and transport gateway between Malaysia and Thailand. Towards this end, the Prime Ministers called on the relevant agencies to accelerate the construction progress of the road alignment linking ICQS Bukit Kayu Hitam and the new CIQ Sadao by each country’s respective timeline so that the cross-border flow of goods and passengers can be further enhanced.

21. Both Prime Ministers welcomed the progress in the planning process of the Construction of the Second Bridge and the Upgrading of the Existing Bridge Linking Rantau Panjang, Kelantan, Malaysia and Su-Ngai Kolok, Narathiwat, Thailand. Given that the bridge promotes connectivity and people-to-people exchanges between Malaysia and Thailand and serves as an important symbol of fraternal ties between the two countries, the Leaders urged relevant authorities to commence the overall construction process so that it can be completed by the targeted date of the first quarter of 2027. Both Leaders looked forward to the signing of the Construction Agreement between the Ministry of Works of Malaysia and the Ministry of Transport of Thailand at the earliest opportunity, which will serve as an impetus to the completion of the said project.

22. The Prime Ministers encouraged the concerned authorities to expedite the possible cooperation to link the Special Border Economic Zones (SBEZs) between Malaysia and Thailand, particularly at the Bukit Kayu Hitam SBEZ in Kedah, Chuping Valley Industrial Area in Perlis, and Pasir Mas Halal Park in Kelantan, on the Malaysia side and the SEZ in the Southern Industrial Estate in Songkhla and the SEZ in Narathiwat, on the Thailand side, with the common goal of streamlining economic activities, trade and investment in the border regions.

23. The two Prime Ministers expressed pleasure with the ongoing cooperation through the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA), which continues to guarantee a healthy supply of gas sales to Malaysia and Thailand and provide a positive impact on livelihoods through job opportunities and spurring the local economy. Thailand also expressed appreciation to Malaysia for the support during the gas supply shortage in 2023, which ensured Thailand's energy security.

24. Both Prime Ministers reaffirmed their support of existing energy cooperation and initiatives which are central to the shared vision of a more integrated, sustainable and secure energy future for the region, including under the ASEAN Power Grid Initiative.

25. In line with the shared aspirations to promote greater linkages as well as increase cross-border flows of goods and passengers between Malaysia and Thailand, as well as the overall region, the Prime Ministers tasked the concerned agencies to advance the progress on the proposed integrated double-track rail link between Ipoh-Padang Besar and Padang Besar-Hat Yai and the high-speed rail alignment in both countries.

26. Both Prime Ministers concurred that the facilitation of road- and rail-based movement of goods and passengers is paramount to the increasing of bilateral trade volume between Malaysia and Thailand as well as achieving ASEAN regional integration. In this regard, they urged the relevant agencies on both sides to expedite the negotiations on the MOUs on the cross-border transportation of goods and passengers. Concurrently, both sides agreed to facilitate permit requirements for plant-based goods transiting through Thailand via the ASEAN Express freight train service between Malaysia and China.

Socio-Cultural Cooperation

27. Both Prime Ministers recognised the transformative power of education on socioeconomic livelihoods and emphasised the importance of closer educational and higher educational cooperation. Both sides agreed to explore collaboration in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector, such as exchange of expertise and joint training programmes. Thailand also expressed gratitude to Malaysia for the latter’s commitment to continue offering opportunities for the Thai community in the Southern Border Provinces (SBPs) to participate in the training and capacity building courses under the Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme (MTCP).

Regional and International Developments

28. The Leaders emphasised the fundamental importance of ASEAN Centrality and unity as well as reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the ASEAN Community. Both sides were pleased with the progress of the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 as well as the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprints 2025 and looked forward to the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 and its Strategic Plans next year. Thailand also expressed unwavering support for Malaysia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025 and commitment to working closely with Malaysia, particularly on sustainability agenda.

29. Both Prime Ministers exchanged views on the recent developments in Myanmar and reiterated their shared aspiration for a peaceful and sustainable resolution to the situation in Myanmar, prioritising the well-being of its people. They also reaffirmed their commitment to advance the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, which remains the main reference to address the situation in Myanmar, in accordance with the ASEAN Leaders’ Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-point Consensus issued in Vientiane, Lao PDR, on 9 October 2024. Towards this end, Malaysia expressed its intention to establish the Office of the Special Envoy of ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. The Thai side also expressed its full support for Malaysia’s leadership in addressing the situation in Myanmar as the ASEAN Chair in 2025.

30. Both Leaders discussed matters pertaining to the South China Sea and reiterated the need to pursue peaceful resolution in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Both sides further underscored the importance of the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety, and the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

Conclusion

31. The Prime Ministers urged the agencies concerned to expedite the implementation of the MOU on Co-operation in the Field of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, and the MOU for Development of Rubber Industry and Economic Cooperation signed at the sidelines of the 7^th Annual Consultation for the benefit of both countries and peoples.

32. The Prime Ministers also instructed officials of both sides to expedite their deliberations towards the conclusion of Agreements/MOU and other instruments by the 8^th Annual Consultation, including, but not limited to:

      (1) MOU on Cross-border Transport of Goods;

      (2) MOU on Cross-border Transport of Passengers;

      (3) MOU on Agriculture Cooperation;

      (4) MOU on Educational Cooperation;

      (5) MOU on Higher Education;

      (6) MOU on Science, Technology and Innovation;

      (7) MOU on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters;

      (8) MOU on Defence Cooperation;

      (9) MOU on Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) of the Golok River;

      (10) MOU on Cooperation to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade; and

      (11) Agreement between the Government of Malaysia and the Government of the Kingdom of Thailand on the Fixed and Permanent Boundary of Areas VIII A, VIII B, VIII C and VIII D along Sungai Golok.

33. As Thailand and Malaysia approach the seventh decade of bilateral relations, the Prime Ministers reiterated their commitment to collaborating to concretise the outcomes of the 7^th Annual Consultation into tangible deliverables for the mutual benefit of both countries, the peoples and the wider ASEAN Community as well as to working closer in various international platforms.

34.The Thai Prime Minister expressed her appreciation to the Malaysian Prime Minister and the Malaysian Government for the warm hospitality and excellent arrangements for the Official Visit to Malaysia and the 7^th Annual Consultation. The Prime Ministers agreed to convene the 8^th Malaysia-Thailand Annual Consultation in Thailand on a mutually agreed date.

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