Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is scheduled to meet with his Malaysian counterpart, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, at the Sadao immigration checkpoint in Songkhla province on Monday, to discuss bilateral border trade and other issues of mutual interest.
According to Chai Wacharonke, the government spokesman, the prime minister and his delegation will fly to Hat Yai tomorrow morning and proceed by car to the checkpoint,where the meeting will be held between the two delegations. The two prime ministers will inspect the new immigration checkpoint in Sadao district and the Bukit Tayu Hitam checkpoint. Prime Minister Srettha will host a lunch for Anwar and his delegates at the Vista hotel.
Chai said today that the meeting in Sadao tomorrow is a follow-up on Srettha’s visit to Malaysia on October 11th, during which the two sides agreed to boost bilateral trade, to ease the congestion at Sadao checkpoint, by building a new one, and to further cooperation on other issues of mutual interest.
Malaysia is Thailand’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and the fourth largest globally. Both sides agreed to boost bilateral border trade to the tune of US$30 billion within 2025.
According to Chai, trade between the two countries in 2022 amounted to 336.13 billion baht, accounting for 31.76% of border trade with all neighbouring countries.
Border trade between Thailand and Malaysia is mostly conducted through the checkpoints in Sadao, Padang Besar, Betong and Su-ngai Kolok.
More than 2.9 million Malaysians visited Thailand last year, accounting for the largest foreign tourist group.
