Joint Press Statement
on the Official Visit to Thailand
by the Honourable Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob,
Prime Minister of Malaysia
on 25 February 2022

1. Upon the invitation of His Excellency General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, the Honourable Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Prime Minister of Malaysia, undertook an official visit to Thailand on 24-26 February 2022 as part of his introductory tour of ASEAN member countries. During the visit, the two Prime Ministers held bilateral discussions on 25 February 2022 at the Government House.
2. 
   Both sides acknowledged the significance of the Honourable Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s first visit to the Kingdom of Thailand in bolstering the long-standing close friendship between the two countries. The two leaders underscored their commitment to advance the Strategic Partnership between Thailand and Malaysia and pave the way to elevate their bilateral relations to new heights.

3. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to work closely together to achieve a speedy and sustainable post-COVID-19 recovery and to explore new areas of cooperation, in order to promote comprehensive security and prosperity for the peoples of Thailand and Malaysia as follows:

Reconnect the Connectivities:

4. Both sides agreed to enhance seamless and comprehensive connectivity between the two countries, including through facilitating cross-border travels by air, land and sea, and advancing pending connectivity projects. They discussed the reopening of borders for fully vaccinated travellers from their respective countries to help revive the economy and resume mobility of people at the earliest opportunity, while taking into consideration necessary public health and disease control measures. In this regard, both sides looked forward to the early resumption of two-way quarantine-free air travels between the two countries for fully vaccinated travellers which will help to boost the tourism sector and contribute to economic recovery in both countries. Both sides also tasked their relevant agencies to set up a joint working group to discuss travel guidelines, particularly to enable land border-crossing.

5. Both sides recognised the importance of mutual recognition of vaccine certificates between Thailand and Malaysia and agreed to speed up the process which would facilitate travels between peoples of the two countries.

6. Both sides discussed the status of pending connectivity projects, especially the construction of the Road Alignment Linking CIQ Sadao - ICQS Bukit Kayu Hitam and the construction of new bridges across Golok river and agreed to closely coordinate to accelerate progress of these projects.

7. Both sides recognised mutual benefits from promoting linkages between special economic zones on both sides of the border and tasked their relevant agencies to explore possible cooperation in this issue.

8. Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to enhance their cooperation in IMT-GT, especially through implementation of the Physical Connectivity Projects (PCPs). Also, they acknowledged the importance of collaboration on the three lead focus areas, namely Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Tourism, and Halal Products and Services, in order to realise the IMT-GT Vision 2036 of being integrated, innovative, inclusive and sustainable.

Reinvigorate the Economy:

9. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to promote bilateral trade and investment and to continue working closely to achieve the bilateral trade target of USD 30 billion with an extended timeframe to 2025. Both sides also concurred that the 3^rd meeting of the Joint Trade Committee should be convened at the earliest opportunity to advance towards that goal.

10. Both sides agreed to explore new areas of cooperation, including digital economy, circular and green economy in line with the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model towards sustainable development and inclusive future, as well as possible collaboration in vaccine research.

11. Both sides expressed readiness to sign the pending MoUs, namely, on cross-border transportation of goods and passengers and on cooperation and mutual assistance on customs matters, once finalized and respective internal procedures are completed.

Reassure Security and Stability:

12. Both sides agreed on the importance of promoting comprehensive and sustainable development in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand as well as the northern states of Malaysia, in order to maintain peace, security and prosperity in the border area between the two countries. They further agreed to strengthen security cooperation in order to support border security, particularly in prevention and suppression of transnational crimes and other cross-border illegal activities.

Revitalise Bilateral Mechanisms for Cooperation:

13. Both sides agreed to enhance dialogue, encourage more visits and exchanges, and revitalise existing bilateral mechanisms; for example, the Annual Consultations (AC) between both Prime Ministers, the Joint Commission (JC) for Bilateral Cooperation, the Joint Development Strategy (JDS) for Border Areas, the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), the General Border Committee (GBC), and the Joint Working Committee on Security Cooperation (JWC-SC). In this regard, the Thai side expressed readiness to host the 14^th Meeting of the Thailand – Malaysia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation and the 5^th Ministerial Meeting of the Thailand – Malaysia Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas in 2022.

Regional Cooperation:

14. Both sides exchanged views on current developments in the region and reaffirmed their commitment to uphold ASEAN Centrality and their unwavering support for ASEAN to overcome challenges to ensure peace, security and stability in the region. Both sides emphasised the need to further strengthen ASEAN Community building efforts, including through the work on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision under Malaysia’s role as the permanent shepherd, and to promote concrete cooperation under the three pillars of ASEAN Community for the mutual benefits of all ASEAN Member States. Both sides also underlined ASEAN’s constructive role in addressing regional issues of common concern, including the situation in Myanmar, particularly the implementation of the Five–Point Consensus as mandated by the ASEAN Leaders.

15. Both sides reaffirmed commitment to support APEC towards an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040. The Thai side also expressed determination to build upon the success of Malaysia’s APEC host year in 2020 while the Malaysian side expressed support Thailand’s hosting of APEC 2022.

16. Both sides expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the visit which underlined the cordial and long-standing relations between Thailand and Malaysia as well as both countries’ commitment to enhance strategic partnership for the benefits of the two peoples.

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