Malaysia, Thailand committed to strengthening bilateral relations post-covid-19 -- Hishamuddin

By Linda Khoo Hui Li

BANGKOK, Aug 30 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Thailand are committed to strengthening existing friendly bilateral relations in various fields, especially in the post-COVID-19 phase.

Senior Minister of Defence Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this after paying a courtesy call on Thailand's Acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan at Government House today.

Also present was Chief of Defence Force General Tan Sri Affendi Buang, Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Mohd Sany, and Malaysian Ambassador to Thailand Datuk Jojie Samuel.

The two leaders also agreed to increase cooperation and efforts in implementing the agreement reached during his working visit.

"We also expressed our commitment to ensure that everything that was refined during the 55th General Border Committee Malaysia-Thailand (GBC MALTHAI) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur last May is implemented in the best way for the security of the border between the two countries," he said.

"I believe the matters discussed will bring benefits to the people of both countries and further contribute towards the strengthening of bilateral relations and cooperation between Malaysia and Thailand," he said in a statement.

According to the statement, Hishamuddin also took the opportunity to share some important developments as a result of the Bilateral Meeting with his counterpart Prayuth Chan o-cha on Monday, including Malaysia's proposal to establish a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation, as well as the Quadrilateral Ministerial Meeting on the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP).

Hishammuddin was in Bangkok at the invitation of Prayuth, and attended the Defense & Security Expo 2022 at the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center yesterday. He paid a courtesy call on Prawit, concluding his working visit to Thailand today.

-- BERNAMA