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Remarks by His Excellency Mr. Samak Sundaravej,
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
at the Luncheon hosted by His Excellency Dato’Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,
Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Kuala Lumpur, 24 April 2008
Your Excellency Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,Selamat tengah hari (=Good Afternoon)
On behalf of my delegation, I wish to express our deep appreciation for the warm welcome and generous hospitality extended to us by Your Excellency and the Malaysian government, thereby making me feel like visiting an old friend. I am also deeply honoured to be granted an audience with His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong later today.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Your Excellency for being re-appointed Prime Minister for another term. Having been Prime Minister for almost three months,I can begin to appreciate what Your Excellency have gone through in the past five years. I admire Your Excellency greatly for having been able to maintain your grace under pressure. Malaysia is fortunate to have Your Excellency as her leader.
Your Excellency,
Thailand attaches great importance to our relations with Malaysia, whom we regard as our close neighbor and strategic partner. We are deeply thankful for the kind cooperation rendered by the Malaysian Government, in particular, Your Excellency, our mutual efforts to bring peace and prosperity to our peoples, especially in Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia.
Concerning the Southern Border Provinces, I wish to thank Malaysia for her understanding as well as excellent and close cooperation and support, both bilaterally and within the OIC framework. The Thai Government remains fully committed to the peaceful and reconciliatory approach in resolving the situation.
Your Excellency,
Later this afternoon we will discuss issues of common interest and concerns in an open-heart manner, befitting two very close neighbors with common purposes.
We hope to discuss possible linkages between Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and East Coast Economic Region (ECER) projects of Malaysia and the Special Economic Development Zone (SEDZ) in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand, which will benefit the economic development on both sides of the borders.
As very close neighbours with shared borders, our destinies are intertwined. The progress and success our in bilateral mechanisms, such as JC, JDA, JDS, Annual Consultation, and GBC, show how close our partnership has become. We are pleased with the substantial progress under the JDS,especially on infrastructure and transportation. I note with great pleasure that the second bridge crossing Golok River linking Buketa and Bukit Bunga was recently opened.
Our closeness is also reflected by the number of firsts in our relations. Thailand was among the first countries Malaysia established diplomatic relations with. Our JC is the very first one Thailand entered into with another country and our joint cabinet meeting was also the first for both countries. Malaysia is also the first and only country we have a JDA with, as agreed between our two governments in 1979 to let both of us “drink from the same well”. These initiatives have served as models for our relations with other countries in the region and beyond.Our cooperation on the 3Es concept, which are Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship, will be further strengthened for the betterment of our people’s livelihood. I am also pleased to see progress of IMT-GT in improving the standards of living of our peoples.
Our economic partnership is also growing. Last year, our bilateral trade rose nearly 10 percent to surpass 15 billion US dollars, while investment from Malaysia to Thailand has increased more than 50 percent.
Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,I look forward to working closely with Your Excellency to enhance our bilateral relations. I hope to have an opportunity to welcome Your Excellency to Thailand later this year to co-chair the 4th Annual Consultation.
As incoming Chair of ASEAN, Thailand is also confident that our cooperation in the ASEAN framework will strengthen and, through the ASEAN Charter, place people at the centre of our agenda.Allow me to take this opportunity to extend to Your Excellency my very best wishes for your continued happiness, success and good health. I am confident our relations will continue to be strengthened in the years ahead.
Terima Kasih (=Thank you.)
Government Spokesman Bureau
Foreign Relations Division