PUTRAJAYA: Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah (pix) is leading the Malaysian delegation to the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) being held from today to Jan 18 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Wisma Putra, the Foreign Ministry, in a statement here today, said Saifuddin, who will be accompanied by senior officials from the ministry, would also make an official visit to Bangkok on Jan 19.
Thailand is the chairman of Asean this year with the theme ‘Advancing Partnership for Sustainability’, and the AMM Retreat in Chiang Mai is the first scheduled meeting for the Asean member states, which will see the participation of the Asean foreign ministers, the Asean secretary-general and senior officials from all the 10 Asean countries.
The retreat will be preceded by the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM).
The foreign ministers will also discuss issues which include initiatives to move the Asean Community agenda forward and updates on the implementation of decisions made during the 33rd Asean Summit in Singapore last year.
They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of common concern as well as discuss the means to enhance Asean relations with its dialogue partners.
Wisma Putra said that in Bangkok, Saifuddin would meet his counterpart Don Pramudwinai. A working lunch of the foreign ministers has been arranged during which they are expected to discuss bilateral issues, particularly on the infrastructure projects at the Malaysia-Thailand border.
“They are also expected to discuss the southern Thailand peace process dialogue as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern, focusing in particular on initiatives by the two countries on the sustainability agenda,“ it said.
Wisma Putra said Saifuddin would host a high tea for Malaysians in Bangkok.
Malaysia and Thailand have strong bilateral cooperation in various sectors, including trade and investment, security, defence and tourism.
Thailand is Malaysia’s fifth largest trading partner overall and total bilateral trade between the two countries in 2017 amounted to RM98.69 billion, with border trade alone accounting for more than 60 per cent of the total trade.
