PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Thailand have agreed to commence a 24-hour operations at Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Bukit Kayu Hitam and Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Sadao starting from midnight (June 18).
The Foreign Ministry said this was in an effort to further enhance connectivity, investment and flow of trade between the two countries.
“The 24 hour operations will be conducted for a three-month trial period, involving only cargo and goods movement carried by trucks and heavy vehicles.
“The commencement of the 24 hour operations will be marked by a launching ceremony to be held between late June 17 and early morning of June 18,” it said in a statement.
The ministry added that the launching ceremony would be jointly launched by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Marzuki Yahya and Chaisiri Anamarn, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Governor of Songkhla Province Weranaan Pengjun will also be attending the launching ceremony, together with senior officials from the federal and state governments.
The two governments have also agreed to establish an evaluation team to measure the effectiveness of the 24 hour operations during the 3-month trial period, it said.
Malaysia and Thailand have strong bilateral cooperation in various sectors including trade and investment.
Thailand is Malaysia’s fifth largest trading partner. Total bilateral trade between the two countries in 2018 was RM105.36 billion, with border trade alone accounting more than 60 per cent of the total trade.
