Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Thailand-Malaysia Border Areas
Thailand-Malaysia Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas: JDS
Important News and Updates
The 6th Ministerial Meeting of the Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS)
On August 6, 2024, representatives from the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) attended the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Malaysia. The meeting endorsed the JDS Strategic Plan […]
IGNITE Thailand Conference in Kuala Lumpur: Enhancing Thailand-Malaysia Cross Border Connectivity Through Public-Private Partnership
On July 1, 2024, the Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur hosted the IGNITE THAILAND in Kuala Lumpur conference: Enhancing Thailand-Malaysia Cross Border Connectivity Through Public-Private Partnership in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event comprised an Economic Forum and Business Matching activities. Ms. Lada Phumas, Ambassador of Thailand to Malaysia, and Dr. Mohd Shaharin Bin Umar, […]
The 14th JDS Committee Working Group Meeting to Drive Economic Development in the Thailand-Malaysia Border Area
On May 21, 2024, the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia hosted the 14th Joint Development Strategy (JDS) Working Group Meeting for the Thailand-Malaysia Border Area in Langkawi, Malaysia. The meeting was chaired by Datuk Dr. Zunika Binti Mohamed, Deputy Secretary-General (Policy) of the Ministry of Economy of Malaysia. Mr. Wanchat Suwankitti, Deputy Secretary-General of the […]
Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Meets with Minister of Finance and Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council
On April 22, 2022, Dato Sri Mustapa bin Mohamed, Malaysian Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy), met with Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Finance, together with Mr. Danucha Pichayanan, Secretary-General of the National Economic and Social Development Council, at the Ministry of Finance. Both parties discussed and followed up on the progress of various […]
The 12th Working Group Meeting of the JDS Program
On February 7, 2020, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council hosted the 12th Working Group Meeting of the Thailand-Malaysia Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (The 12th Working Group Meeting of Thailand-Malaysia Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas: JDS) to discuss cooperation projects in the Thailand-Malaysia border […]
“NESDC” Discusses with “Malaysia’s Ministry of Economic Affairs” Progress on Thai-Malaysia Border Area Development
During December 10-11, 2019, Dr. Wanchat Suwannakitti, Policy and Planning Advisor at the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), co-chaired the 5th Project Coordinators’ Meeting and the 3rd High-Level Meeting under the Thailand-Malaysia Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (The 5th Project Coordinators’ Meeting and the 3rd High-Level Meeting […]
General Information about JDS Cooperation
The Thailand-Malaysia Committee on Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas (JDS) was established in 2004 with the objective of developing equal well-being and livelihood opportunities for the people, as well as reducing factors leading to security issues
in Thailand’s 5 southern border provinces (Songkhla, Yala, Satun, Pattani,
and Narathiwat) and Malaysia’s 4 northern states (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Perak), and
reducing factors that lead to security issues in the border areas
Enhancing the Connectivity
Ensuring the Competitiveness
Enriching the Human Capital
Infrastructure development for connectivity will be based on the following linkage corridors:
Satun Province – Perlis State
(Satun – Perlis Link)
Songkhla Province – Perlis State
(Songkhla – Perlis Link)
Songkhla Province – Kedah State
(Songkhla – Kedah Link)
Pattani – Yala – Betong – Pengkalan Hulu
(Pattani – Yala – Betong – Pengkalan Hulu Link)
Pattani-Narathiwat Provinces – Kelantan State
(Pattani – Narathiwat – Kelantan Link)
There are 3 main levels of cooperation mechanisms:
Ministerial Meeting
Co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries
Senior Officials’ Meeting
Co-chaired by the Permanent Secretaries of Foreign Affairs of both countries
Working Group Meeting
With NESDC and Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit (EPU) serving as joint secretariats, and subsidiary mechanisms to facilitate operations including project coordinator meetings and high-level meetings to monitor specific project progress or discuss specific issues
On March 21, 2023, NESDC hosted the 13th JDS Working Group Meeting in Bangkok, with participation from Malaysia’s Economic Planning Unit (EPU) (then Malaysia’s secretariat) and government representatives from both Thailand and Malaysia
The meeting acknowledged the preliminary principles of the Draft Strategic Plan 2023-2027, which focuses on Enhancing the Connectivity, Ensuring the Competitiveness, and Enriching the Human Capital, or the 3E principles. This draft strategic plan will incorporate projects from both Thai and Malaysian sides
Examples of Projects under JDS Cooperation
New Sadao Customs Checkpoint Construction Project
Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs Checkpoint Construction Project
