Thailand reopens two border checkpoints with Malaysia
Malaysian authorities have accepted Thailand’s proposal to reopen Narathiwat’s Tak Bai and Buke Ta border checkpoints, which had been closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Thailand’s Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit (centre) predicts that the reopening of the two border checkpoints is estimated to raise bilateral trade between Thailand and Malaysia by at least 600 million baht per year. (Source: BangkokPost)
Bangkok (VNA) – Malaysian authorities have acceptedThailand’s proposal to reopen Narathiwat’s Tak Bai and Buke Ta bordercheckpoints, which had been closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Thailand’s Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit expected there-opening of those two border checkpoints in the Thai southern province ofNarathiwat on November 15 will increase the nations’ trade by at least 600million THB (18.32 million USD) a year.
The minister added that Thailand shares 97 bordercheckpoints with neighbouring countries, and 46 of them have resumedcross-border activities thanks to an improvement in the COVID-19 situation, as reportedby the Thai news site The Nation.
“In the first nine months of this year, cross-border tradestood at 1.27 trillion THB, a 31.67 percent increase from the same period in2020,” the minister was quoted as saying by the site. “Exports contributed 778.36billion THB, marking a 38.06 percent increase year on year, while imports wereworth 497.17 billion THB, expanding 22.78 percent year on year.”
The Commerce Ministry said Malaysia is Thailand’s No 1cross-border trade partner, with total trade volume in the first nine months of2021 recorded at 239 billion THB, up 36.47 percent year on year and isresponsible for 35.73 percent of all cross border trade volume.
Jurin added that the government is also working withCambodian authorities to open more border checkpoints, including Tha Sen inTrat and Nong Ian in Sa Kaew provinces./.
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Thailand’s Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit (centre) predicts that the reopening of the two border checkpoints is estimated to raise bilateral trade between Thailand and Malaysia by at least 600 million baht per year. (Source: BangkokPost) 
