Thailand, Malaysia Open New Border Trade Crossing

Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Friday officially opened the new road linking Thailand's Sadao Customs House with Malaysia's Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint, marking a major step in strengthening cross-border trade and connectivity.

The inauguration took place at the new Sadao border checkpoint in Songkhla province. During the ceremony, the two leaders walked from their respective border gates and met for a symbolic handshake at the midpoint of the crossing before Anwar welcomed Anutin to the Malaysian side.

The new road will open to the public and freight transport from July 11 after years of joint development by the two countries to connect their border checkpoints.

Speaking at the ceremony, Anutin described the new Sadao checkpoint as "an economic gateway" that would bring the people, trade and investment of Thailand and Malaysia closer together. He said the Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam crossing is the two countries' most important land trade gateway and one of the region's key transport corridors. The new connection is expected to ease congestion, shorten border crossing times, lower logistics costs and improve the movement of goods, tourists and travelers.

Anutin said he and Anwar had agreed during their official talks on Thursday to accelerate border connectivity projects linking Songkhla-Kedah, Satun-Perlis and Narathiwat-Kelantan, while also promoting border economic zones and streamlining customs and immigration procedures.

He said the infrastructure investment would help attract new investment, create jobs and boost local businesses, while improving the quality of life in border communities.

Thailand and Malaysia have set a bilateral trade target of $30 billion. More than 80% of the two countries' border trade currently passes through the Sadao crossing, underscoring its importance as the main trade and logistics gateway between the neighbors.