Bilateral relations and cooperation between Thailand and Malaysia will be further developed under the administrations of Prime Ministers Prayut Chan-ocha and Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said a Thai government spokesperson.

Weerachon Sukondhapatipak said remarks to the effect were made by Prayut during a meeting with Malaysia's armed forces chief Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, when the latter paid a courtesy call on him at his office at the Government House in Bangkok today.

"The (Thai) Prime Minister affirmed Thailand's willingness to join hands with the Malaysian government for the interests of the two countries and their peoples," Weerachon said in a statement released after the meeting.

The Thai premier also thanked Putrajaya for playing a constructive role as the facilitator for southern Thailand peace talks.

Thailand, according to Prayut, wants to resolve problems in the southern border provinces through peaceful means and with participation from all sectors, said the spokesperson.

During the meeting, the Thai prime minister and Zulkifli also discussed on effective cooperation between the armed forces of both countries, which has existed since 1965 to safeguard security and peace along the common border.

Prayut, according to a spokesperson, was happy to be meeting the Malaysian armed forces chief again since their last meeting in 2012, when both were army chiefs. 

According to Weerachon, Zulkifli also mentioned that Malaysia placed high priority on cooperation under the General Border Committee (GBC) and Regional Border Committee (RBC) in resolving problems along the border.

Zulkifli arrived in Bangkok on Monday to attend the 35th Thailand-Malaysian High Level Committee (HLC) meeting which concluded yesterday. 

Later, he paid a courtesy call on Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan at his office.

Both discussed various issues of common interest from security cooperation along the common border, including matters related to illegal entry, human trafficking, drug smuggling, transnational crimes and dual citizenship, said Defence Ministry spokesperson Kongcheep Tantravanich.

Earlier,Zulkifli was given an official welcome at the Thai armed forces headquarters before meeting his counterpart Tanchaiyan Srisuwan.

- Bernama