PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to form a number of task forces to boost existing ties, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
These would include task forces on tourism, trade, food security and agriculture as well as border security issues, says the Prime Minister.
Anwar added that Thailand remained an 'important and key neighbour' to Malaysia and said he was pleased with the pragmatic outcome of the bilateral meeting.
"We have set up a number of task forces.. that must complete their work within a period of one month," he said during a joint press conference with Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin after a bilateral meeting at Perdana Putra building here on Wednesday (Oct 11).
Anwar said that both sides would meet again in a period of one month, after the relevant reports had been submitted to him and Thavisin, to review the performance of the respective task forces.
"Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin has been forthcoming, and hopefully we can increase trade and investments, as well as complement each other as neighbours, and benefit immensely from the experience of both countries," added Anwar.
Srettha arrived in Malaysia today for a two-day working visit. This was his inaugural visit to Malaysia after being sworn in as the prime minister of Thailand on Sept 5.
This would be Anwar and Srettha’s second meeting. The first engagement between the two leaders was on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly last month.
In 2022, Thailand was Malaysia’s seventh-largest trading partner globally and ranked third among the Asean member countries.
The total trade increased by 17.9% to RM122.03bil from RM97.55bil in 2021.
