Anutin plans Malaysia visit after talks with Anwar at Asean Summit

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has confirmed his readiness to make an official visit to Malaysia this year, saying he wants to get to know Thailand’s neighbour more deeply after holding talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu, the Philippines.

Rachada Dhnadirek, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said at 5.45pm at the Shangri-La hotel that Anutin, who also serves as interior minister, met Anwar on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit.

She said the two leaders held warm and close discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and pushing forward key issues across several areas, reflecting the strong relationship between the leaders of the two countries.

Rachada said Anutin emphasised that Thai-Malaysian relations were currently in very good shape. The two sides were close, familiar with each other and able to coordinate smoothly, while cooperation had continued to make progress with almost no pending issues because of the close personal ties between the two leaders.

Anutin also mentioned his planned official visit to Malaysia, which had originally been scheduled late last year but was postponed. He confirmed that he was ready to make the visit within this year, adding that he wanted an opportunity to get to know Malaysia more deeply.

The two leaders also discussed key areas of cooperation, particularly the acceleration of joint border development.

These included the opening of a road linking the Sadao and Bukit Kayu Hitam customs checkpoints in Songkhla province, and the second bridge across the Kolok River in Narathiwat province, with both sides aiming for construction to begin this year.

The projects are expected to support trade, travel and closer people-to-people links between the two countries.

On security and peace in Thailand’s southern border provinces, Anutin informed Malaysia that the Thai government had appointed a new head of the peace dialogue panel, describing the person as knowledgeable, experienced and well-versed in the issue.

He reaffirmed the Thai government’s full commitment to resolving the problem through peaceful means.

Both countries agreed that peace and stability in the area would form an important foundation for long-term joint development of the border region.

The two sides also agreed to push for closer cooperation in trade, investment and tourism, with the aim of strengthening people-to-people connectivity through travel and tourism activities, as well as expanding regional economic opportunities.

The talks reflected not only close government-level relations between Thailand and Malaysia, but also familiarity and trust between the two leaders, Rachada said.

Both sides were ready to work together to advance concrete cooperation in infrastructure, economic connectivity and peace-building in the border areas for the sustainable benefit of people in both countries.