MELAKA, Sept 9 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said newly-appointed Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has shown commitment to ensuring peace between Thailand and Cambodia.
Anwar said the matter was conveyed to him during a phone conversation with Anutin earlier this week.
“…(Anutin) assured me that he remains committed to ensuring that peace between Cambodia and Thailand will be fully respected and honoured,” he said in his opening address at the 19th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime (AMMTC) here today.
Anwar also said that their discussions also touched on collaboration between countries.
“Asean has been extremely kind to give that endorsement as support to our endeavours,” he said.
Anutin, 58, who is the leader of the Bhumjaithai party, officially assumed the position of the 32nd Prime Minister of Thailand on Sunday, after receiving royal endorsement, marking a new chapter in the country’s political leadership.
On July 28, Anwar, in his capacity as the current Asean Chair, convened a special meeting at the official residence of the Malaysian Prime Minister – the Seri Perdana Complex – in Putrajaya, attended by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand’s Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
The two hours and 30-minute meeting was their first face-to-face encounter since tensions erupted between the two neighbours on July 24.
At a joint press conference after the meeting, Anwar announced that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire amid rising tensions along their disputed border.
Cambodia and Thailand are actively working to establish lasting peace along their 817-kilometre border, which has been a source of contention and has led to military confrontations in the Oddar Meanchey and Preah Vihear border areas. — Bernama
