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Joint Press Conference by His Excellency Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva,
Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
at the Malaysia's Prime Minister Office, Putrajaya,
8 June 2009
· I am pleased to be invited by Prime Minister Najib to pay an official visit to Malaysia today and honoured to be the first foreign official guest of the Malaysian Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib. My visit today provides us with a good opportunity to reaffirm a strong partnership between our two countries and to strengthen our cooperation in all areas.
· As Malaysia and Thailand are close neighbours with shared borders, Prime Minister Najib and I shared the views that we also share common destiny. I reaffirmed to Prime Minister Najib my Government policy of peaceful and reconciliation approach on the issue of the Southern Border Provinces and thanked Prime Minister Najib for Malaysia's close cooperation and support on this matter in both security and socio-economic aspects. I also discussed with him extensively on what kind of measures are needed to move our cooperation further and faster.
· On security matters, we agreed to step up the existing cooperation, particularly in joint border checkpoint and exchange of intelligence.
· On socio-economic development, Prime Minister Najib and I agreed to continue our cooperation under the 3Es concept, which are Education, Entrepreneurship and Employment. While we took note of some progress under this scheme of cooperation, especially on education, we agreed to expedite our cooperation, especially on the other two Es, in order to bring better livelihood to the peoples in the Southern Thailand and Northern Malaysia. In this regard, I thanked Prime Minister Najib for generous granting scholarships for Thai students to study at schools and universities in Malaysia every year as well as vocational training scholarships at Giatmara training institute.
· On a broader sense, we also discussed how to complement each other's economic strength, especially in energy and halal industries. Since Malaysia has high potential in Halal industries as she has established her place in the Muslim world, while Thailand has strength in agro-industry and advancement in Halal Science, Prime Minister Najib agreed with me that both countries can draw on each other's strength in this field. On energy, beside the ongoing cooperation and projects under the Joint Development Area, alternative energy especially from oil palm is another potential area for more cooperation and Thailand could learn more from Malaysia's success. In this regard, I thanked Prime Minister Najib for his positive response.
· PM Najib and I agreed to hold all pending high-level meetings as soon as possible. This year, there will be the 11th Joint Commission Meeting and the 2nd JDS Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by Malaysia and the 4th Annual Consultation to be hosted by Thailand. These important meetings will provide good opportunities for authorities concerned to implement what has been agreed by their leaders during this visit.
· We also exchanged views on issues beyond our bilateral cooperation, such as our economic stimulus packages to tackle the impact of the world economic crisis. I welcomed and appreciated Prime Minister Najib's valuable advice and comments on ASEAN cooperation. We both support the efforts to build the caring and sharing ASEAN community where the well-being, likelihood and welfare of our peoples are enhanced. We agreed that there is a need to forge a common identity and create a sense of ASEAN citizenship among our people.
· As ASEAN's Chairman, Thailand appreciates Malaysia's valuable contribution in regional cooperation to address issues of common concerns.
· We both agreed that the ASEAN human rights body will give concrete expression to the ASEAN Charter and to our commitment to create a people-centred Community.
· I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Najib to the 15th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits to be held in Thailand.
· I am satisfied with the outcome of our discussion today which I believe that it will foster close cooperation in all areas as well as bring peace and prosperity to the peoples along our borders. · I am pleased that Prime Minister Najib accepted my invitation to pay an official visit to Thailand so that I can reciprocate his generous hospitality.