On 27 November 2023, H.E. Mr. Srettha Thavisin, Prime Minister, is scheduled to meet with Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, in Sadao, Songkhla Province, to push forward cooperation to develop the border area between Thailand and Malaysia.

This meeting will follow up on Prime Minister Srettha's official visit to Malaysia during 11-12 October 2023, with aim to demonstate the joint commitment of the two leaders to advance concrete cooperation in border development between Thailand and Malaysia, in particular border trade and tourism, and facilitation of cross-border transport of goods and passengers.

The Thai Prime Minister and his Malaysian counterpart will also discuss ways to expedite the construction of key connectivity projects at the border, which would help promote business and uplift the well-being of the people. These include the road alignment between the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) in Sadao and Bukit Kayu Hitam, and the second bridge at Su-ngai Golok- Rantau Panjang.

Both Prime Ministers will inspect the road alignment linking the New CIQ Sadao of Thailand and the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) checkpoint of Malaysia. The Prime Minister of Thailand will also visit the Bukit Kayu Hitam ICQS of Malaysia upon the invitation of the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

As a follow up of Prime Minister Srettha's official visit to Malaysia, the Royal Thai Government has temporarily suspended the T.M. 6 immigration form for foreign tourists entering Thailand at the CIQ Sadao checkpoint from 1 November 2023 until 30 April 2024 to facilitate the entry of Malaysian tourists to Thailand. As a result, since the start of this measure on 1 November 2023, the number of Malaysian tourists has increased by 64 per cent at the Sadao checkpoint comparing to the same period of last year.

On border security, the governments of Thailand and Malaysia have been working closely to prevent and suppress transnational organized crimes in the border areas, such as drugs, human trafficking and illegal wildlife trade.

CIQ Sadao is a border trade checkpoint with the highest volume of border trade and cross-border trade in Thailand. In 2022, about 2.7 million Malaysians visited Thailand, making them the largest group of tourists in Thailand, with more than one-third travelled into Thailand through the Sadao checkpoint.