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 areas. This meeting was held as a continuation of the 13th Strategic Planning Meeting of the IMT-GT Program. Mr. Danucha Pichayanan, Deputy Secretary-General of NESDC, served as co-chair of the meeting alongside Dr. Suhana Binti Muhammad Saleh, Director of the Strategic Planning and International Cooperation Division, Ministry of Economic Affairs of Malaysia. The meeting was also attended by Mr. Wanchat Suwannakitti, Policy and Program Advisor, officials from the Strategy and International Cooperation Coordination Division of NESDC, and representatives from Thai and Malaysian agencies, totaling approximately 70 participants.
The meeting was briefed on the progress in drafting the 2nd JDS Action Plan (2020-2040), which will align with Thailand’s 20-Year National Strategy and Malaysia’s Shared Prosperity Vision (SPV). The plan comprises cooperation projects in 7 sectors, with most being infrastructure development projects along the border areas that are progressing systematically, including the construction of the new Sadao Customs Checkpoint, the construction of Malaysia’s Bukit Kayu Hitam Customs Checkpoint, the Betong Airport construction project, the Southern Border Province Model City project, joint technical meetings for the construction of two bridges across the Golok River, and the Yang Industrial Estate in Songkhla Province and Kedah State. Meanwhile, projects in other cooperation sectors such as human resource development, finance and investment (Islamic banking), agriculture, and public health have opened discussions to lead to more detailed cooperation, ensuring that the JDS program comprehensively covers all development dimensions and truly benefits the people in the area while reducing inequality.
Furthermore, the meeting established a timeline for completing the 2nd JDS Action Plan to be used for reporting to the 5th Ministerial Meeting of the JDS Program, which will be held in early April 2020.