PRIME MINISTER ANWAR ARRIVES IN BANGKOK FOR TWO-DAY VISIT, HIGH-LEVEL TALKS

By Kenny Teng Khoon Hock

BANGKOK, April 17 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim arrived here today for a two-day working visit to Thailand.

The special aircraft carrying the Prime Minister landed at the Royal Thai Air Force Military Air Terminal 2 near Don Mueang at 1.20 pm (local time).

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit and the Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Malaysian Embassy in Thailand, Bong Yik Jui, were at the terminal to receive the Prime Minister and the Malaysian delegation.

Accompanying the Prime Minister were the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, the Foreign Ministry Secretary-General, Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin and ASEAN’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Tan Sri Othman Hashim.

According to a statement issued earlier by Wisma Putra, upon arrival, Anwar is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with his counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra the Government House.

It said Anwar and Paetongtarn are expected to follow up on the outcomes of the 7th Malaysia-Thailand Annual Consultation (AC), which was held on Dec 16, 2024, in Putrajaya.

“Both leaders will also take stock of bilateral ties and explore further potential collaborative areas between the two close neighbours, as well as deliberate on regional and international issues of mutual interest,” Wisma Putra said.

After the meeting, Anwar and Paetongtarn will witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Construction Agreement (CA) for the Rantau Panjang - Sungai Kolok Bridge Project, which will be signed by Nanta and his counterpart Suriya Juangroongruangkit.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to meet with the Informal Advisory Group to the ASEAN Chair and hold engagements with captains of industry in Thailand.

“This visit serves as a continuation of the exchange of visits at the leaders’ level last year, in addition to the recent telephone conversation between Anwar and his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra on March 6,” Wisma Putra added.

These engagements reflect the longstanding camaraderie and close cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand as neighbouring countries and founding members of ASEAN.

In 2024, Thailand was Malaysia’s seventh-largest trading partner globally and third-largest within ASEAN, with total trade amounting to USD25.03 billion (RM114.56 billion).

Between January and February this year, bilateral trade stood at USD3.96 billion (RM17.65 billion), up from USD3.67 billion (RM16.80 billion) during the same period in 2024.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to return home on April 18.

-- BERNAMA