PUTRAJAYA, Oct 11 — Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to form a number of task forces to boost cooperation in agriculture, tourism, security, trade and business, including the halal sector, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Anwar, in revealing this during a joint press conference on Wednesday with his Thai counterpart, Srettha Thavisin, at the Prime Minister’s Office here, said both leaders have given a one-month timeframe to submit a report on the outcome of the task forces.

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“(We agreed) to set up a number of task forces and must complete work in one month. One month is for the agriculture sector, tourism, security, trade and business, including the halal sector. Hopefully, it will increase trade and investment.

“We will meet after the report is submitted to me and PM Srettha. We have many multilateral meetings — one in the (upcoming) Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — and the Asean -Japan Commemorative Summit in mid-December in Tokyo.” he said at the press conference after a bilateral meeting with Srettha

Anwar said both he and Srettha will compare notes to ensure the task forces are executed effectively.

He said he extended Proton-Geely’s plan to set up a plant in Thailand to Srettha and believed it will benefit the company with Thailand’s vast experience in the automotive industry.

“I asked them (Proton-Geely) to discuss with Srettha and he has taken an open view on the matter,” he said.

Srettha is on his maiden visit to Malaysia after being sworn in as Thailand’s prime minister on September 5.

He is on a five-day working visit to Hong Kong and Asean member countries. The five-day visit began on Sunday (October 8) in Hong Kong followed by Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, according to Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. — Bernama