The Prime Minister set policies to address issues and develop the southern border, stressing that security must go hand in hand with the economy. He ordered all units to integrate data to prevent drug trafficking and transnational crime, ensuring no areas become gaps beyond state control.
10 Jul 2026 GMT+7 Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul presided over a meeting to set policies for solving problems and developing the southern border provinces. The meeting took place in Songkhla province, with heads of government agencies and relevant units attending to establish strategies for development and security in the area after completing an official visit to Malaysia.
The Prime Minister said this meeting was a continuation of his two-day official visit to Malaysia, during which he discussed with the Malaysian Prime Minister and officials various issues including security, peacebuilding, bilateral connectivity, and cooperation in economy, trade, and tourism. The outcomes will be used to adjust policies so all agencies can prepare to solve problems and develop the southern border area.
From this trip, it became clear that Thailand’s south is not just the country's southernmost point but a crucial link to northern Malaysia and serves as a gateway connecting ASEAN’s economic, trade, and tourism networks, capable of generating substantial added value and income for the people. The visit to Hat Yai district in Songkhla, an important southern border area, highlighted the region’s potential in economy, investment, and tourism, especially with Malaysian tourists remaining Thailand’s top visitors. Malaysian investment is also among the highest. Meanwhile, trade between Thailand and Malaysia is nearing 30 billion U.S. dollars, or about one trillion baht, marking a highly significant economic value.
The Prime Minister continued, that any incident affecting the southern border would cause economic losses, deprive people of income, cause hardship, and impact the nation’s overall economy. Therefore, the government will not tolerate obstacles that hinder opportunities to improve citizens’ quality of life, expand trade, and facilitate travel between the two countries. He emphasized that as the economy grows, the state must simultaneously enhance its capacity to maintain security and combat drugs, illegal weapons, human trafficking, smuggling, transnational crime, money laundering, influential networks, and all forms of threats. Economic development and security in the southern border must proceed hand in hand.
Moreover, the Prime Minister instructed provincial governors, government heads, administration, military, police, district chiefs, and all relevant agencies to take joint responsibility through integrated efforts. The top priority is to ensure the highest level of safety for citizens’ lives and property. He stressed that unrest, violent acts, bombings, and all forms of terror are unacceptable to the government.
At the same time, the Prime Minister ordered all involved provinces to integrate collaboration among administration, police, military, local government organizations, village heads, village security volunteers, and civil society. They must link their databases as much as possible to enhance operational efficiency and prevent any gaps where the state cannot access or provide care.
