Kuala Lumpur, Aug 4 (IANS) Thai and Cambodian officials have arrived in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, for the General Border Committee meeting, as part of efforts to resolve the conflict between the two countries.
The meeting is scheduled to be held on August 7 in Malaysia, with the country being selected as a neutral venue, the Malaysian Armed Forces said in a statement.
The meeting aims to resolve the border dispute between the two countries, as part of the implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached in Malaysia on July 28, the statement added, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on August 1, Cambodia welcomed Thailand’s proposal to hold talks on border issues in Malaysia.
“I would like to take this opportunity to confirm that Cambodia welcomes Thailand’s proposal to hold a meeting of the General Border Committee (GBC) in Kuala Lumpur,” Cambodian Defence Ministry’s Under Secretary of State and spokesperson Lt. Gen. Maly Socheata said at a press briefing.
“We’re very confident that this meeting will be constructive and yield fruitful outcomes,” she said.
The office of the spokesperson of Thailand’s Ministry of Defence said Thursday on social media that Deputy Minister of Defence Nattaphon Narkphanit had officially responded to “Cambodia’s invitation” for a special GBC meeting.
In his reply, Nattaphon welcomed the opportunity to join the meeting and emphasised a shared commitment to reduce tensions and resolve border security issues in a peaceful and constructive manner.
Socheata said in a press briefing that Malaysia, the current chair of ASEAN, sent a high-level delegation led by its Chief of Defence Forces, General Datuk Haji Mohd Nizam Bin Haji Jaffar, to Cambodia.
According to the spokesperson, the Malaysian defence forces chief said that two observation teams will be operational, one led by the Malaysian military attache in Cambodia and the other led by the Malaysian military attache in Thailand.
–IANS
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